First Kiss
by Nayeli13
Summary: A story style I've seen in many fandoms is the many ways a couple could've kissed for the first time. So here's one for Wayla/Willayla This is a series of one shots that will all to a certain point be AU. I don't have a beta. That is your warning. Rating is K for safety. It might go up later, but it won't be M.
1. Chapter 1 Jaw

**AN- **_PLEASE READ THIS. I KNOW IT'S LONG._ **So I haven't been posting any stories recently and this movie really stuck with me for some reason so I'm gonna try and get back into the swing of things. I realize that most likely none of you ever read any of my previous works and I have no need to encourage that. I was pretty naïve and had some bad habits.**

**Most fandoms I've been in have had a story like this one so I'm just kind of going with it. This fandom is quite small and I figure it might be less stressful for me because of that.**

**It will be a series of one shots and likely none will be in the same universe as all of these are essentially AU's because I am changing the way Wayla/Willayla are getting together.**

**I make no promises for updates because I have a perfectionist complex sometimes and I'm a college freshman and I don't know what to expect for workload.**

General Disclaimer: I don't own Disney's movie Cloud 9 or anything of the character's unless otherwise stated.

**So by the way. Something I do own is Daisy. She's a little bit of a head canon of mine.**

**I will not be going back to directly quote character's where chapters are inspired by parts of the movie. So I apologize if that's what you prefer.**

**My final warning is that this felt very forced to me when I was writing it because I originally wrote something quite depressing and this is me going three quarters of the way back and altering the entire rest of the story to not be an absolute sad, day ruiner.**

**Without further ado I present to you the first chapter of… ****_First Kiss_**

**Jaw**

"I'm letting the dogs out to meet you. You wouldn't want them to attack," Will smirks at her discomfort. He's enjoying this girl letting down her snarky attitude and acting like a normal person for once. Even if it's to be afraid of some dogs that will in no way attack her no matter what he says. It's the favorite experience he's ever had with her. There may not have been many, but the others were all distinctly angry or irritated banter. He unlatches the gates for each dog.

"I have a dog allergy!" Kayla squeaks as the dogs rush her at her spot on the ottoman letting out a few short barks out of excitement.

Will raises an eyebrow at her false claim. "Somehow I don't believe that you're allergic to dogs when your mother was the one to force you to work here."

"Okay so that may have been a little bit of a lie… It's just that I haven't had a dog or been around one in a long time and I don't know. The idea of that kind of made me nervous," Kayla says aloud her voice obviously flustered. The dogs are all hopping up and down around her knees except Buford, who has taken up post by resting his face in her lap and soon she begins stroking her hands across his nose, head, and ears. She looks at Buford the whole time and quiets her voice some as a little smile graces her face. "I had a puppy just like you when I was little. Her name was Daisy. She was the sweetest."

A shocked expression holds on Will's face. "You had a dog?"

Kayla nods quickly and turns to face Will. "Yeah. I had her until I was ten. She was my best friend until I switched schools and met Pia and Lindsey."

Will answers her still bewildered. "Sorry I just can't picture you as a dog person."

"This is the first time you've ever seen me with a dog," She quickly remarks.

"Exactly," Will exclaims.

Kayla replies with a smirk "So never having seen me with a dog you can't know whether or not I like them," Kayla begins to talk to Buford "and obviously I do." Her hands rub the sides of Buford's neck and he lifts his paws up to her lap and stands on her thighs. She giggles loudly when Buford nuzzles into her chest and neck. She wraps her arms around the big dog and hugs him tight with a big, nose crinkling smile on her face, "I missed this."

Will blinks a few times at the sight. He may have to take his statement about liking her quiet and unsassy back. He's pretty sure that he prefers her this way much more. He takes a few steps to the ottoman and sits down next to her. She turns her head to face him with a look of mild confusion on her face. "What?" He asks her.

She pauses for a moment before replying "Nothing," She turns her attention back to the dog and kisses him on the forehead. "You're such a sweetie."

"Huh?" Will replies.

Kayla turns to Will once more. "The dog."

He blinks rapidly a few times. "Right… That makes sense…"

She nods slowly and then awkwardly returns her attention to Buford, her cheeks have a slight glow. Whether it's from the makeup she's wearing, the chill in the air, or the awkward situation is something Will isn't going to learn. At least not anytime soon.

"Well I guess I'm glad that you actually like dogs. That will make this a lot better than I expected it to be," Will offers.

"Me too. Honestly it's already going considerably better than I thought it would. I figured we would've fought a ton until my mom allowed me to go back home. Granted that could still happen, but…" Her voice trails off teasingly.

Will responds interested, leaning towards her. "But what?"

"It doesn't appear to be happening. You seem a lot nicer than previous encounters," She remarks offhandedly.

"I was a little irritated about my sled at the time. I had reason to be less than pleasant," He defends himself.

Kayla nods. "I get that. It was just the first interaction I'd ever really had with you. Not exactly a fond memory of mine."

He agrees with a smirk. "This is true, but this seems to be a much better impression. At least to me."

Buford jerks to the side at the sound of a car passing the front of the store and his nose smacks Kayla in the jaw with a loud popas he leaps from her lap to the front door. A gasp of pain passes between her lips and she reaches to grasp her jaw.

Will asks hurriedly, "Are you alright? Do you need anything? Some ice maybe? Let me look at it."

She shakes her head with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She really doesn't want to cry in front of him. They were just deciding how well this was going too. The world just loved to prove her wrong.

"C'mon just let me see how bad it is," Will requests, tugging gently on the hands that are grasping her face.

She lets her hands be removed in defeat deciding it was better to not fight him on it. She did need to know the condition of it as well. "How is it?" She manages to utter by moving her jaw as little as possible.

"I'm surprised it's still attached!" He exclaims a teasing tone to his voice. "No though, really it looks fine. It's pretty red right now and I think there may be a bruise forming. That's not going to be enjoyable, but I don't think it's deadly," His smile is reassuring.

"This hurts!" She whimpers.

Will turns his body to face hers a little more. "C'mere."

She twists towards him, a little confused, but compliant nonetheless.

Will reaches out a hand to hold under the good side of her jaw and tips her head up a bit. He moves over and looks at the now obviously forming bruise. "It's a good thing your little party already happened because this isn't going to be covered by makeup very easily."

She grimaces and looks downtrodden at Will's diagnosis. She lets out a sad sigh.

Will leans back towards her and gently presses his lips to the blemish.

Her eyebrows draw together and her face depicts the picture of curiosity and confusion.

He scans her face for any sign of anger or rejection. When he finds none he leans towards her again. This time scanning her eyes for any readable emotions. He figures if she really wanted him to stop she would say something even if her jaw is sore. When they are millimeters apart he pauses for a moment and almost backs off. After all if she doesn't want this won't it be awkward later on? Except him backing away now would cause awkwardness of it's own and that thought pushes him to bridge the small gap between their lips.

Both pairs of eyes fall shut for the tender and simple kiss. It was more a kiss of confirmation. A silent question between the pair. _Do you like me as much as I like you?_

Kayla reaches out a hand for Will's when they part and holds it with a slight squeeze. _Yes._

He smiles at her and her small smile in return was all the response that he ever needed.

**AN- I realized in this scene that Kayla and Nick were technically still a thing if we follow movie-verse. So I decided that I would give you options on how to imagine this.**

**Option A: That Kayla and Nick broke up before she ever worked at the kennel**

**or**

**Option B: That after this Kayla breaks up with Nick.**

**Obviously whatever you think up can be what you want to imagine. Those were just the first two that I came up with.**


	2. Chapter 2 Rescue

**AN- Thank you to my reviewer ****_LoveShipper_****, I really appreciate it. Reviews do inspire me significantly.**

**Cramps are awful…**

**I don't know if I mentioned this, but YOU CAN REQUEST IDEAS FOR THEIR FIRST KISS.**

**That being said I don't guarantee I'll write them immediately or at all depending on if I can connect with your idea. Like if you were to request something about Christmas I may delay that until at least the first snowfall because I'll feel more Christmas-y then.**

**YOUR IDEAS WILL ALL BE WRITTEN DOWN AND CONSIDERED BEFORE I BEGIN WRITING A NEW CHAPTER. I have 31 ideas of my own currently for this story as well as another I am considering for a standalone fic.**

**I'm not writing any of mine in order either. My first idea was the standalone fic and I haven't started that. I modified my first oneshot idea yesterday while writing that first chapter and this chapter was my fourth idea. **

**The reason I have so many ideas is I went through the movie and considered every scene where I could foresee a situation that would cause them to kiss. So in my notebook the ideas are in order by how the movie goes along except for ones that are completely different AUs.**

**Thanks for reading my rambles…**

**Rescue**

I'm soaking wet, out of breath, and all of a sudden I'm approached by Nick. Great. This is just perfect because the one person I would never want seeing me this disheveled is here. Why is this happening to me?

"Hey Kayla I need to talk to you!" Nick calls as he walks over to me.

I grin and try to push the horridness of this situation off. "I need to talk to you too actually. Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

"Well I actually have an explanation for that," Nick explains.

Will approaches me with a quick question to interrupt my conversation. The look on his face is pleading with me to play along. "Hey, have you told him yet?" He says quietly enough for it to seem to be just for my ear's, but loud enough to perk Nick's interest.

"Told me what?" Nick asks aggressively.

Will's body blocks Nick from my view. He mouths the words 'Just go with it. Please trust me.'

I look at him curiously, but agree to go along with it by giving him a small nod. This has to be serious if he's helping me out. "Well no… I haven't told him," I say hesitantly.

Will slides back to my side and slips his arm around my shoulder. He looks me in the eye to ask me "Do you want me to tell him?"

"I suppose," I allow him to tell Nick my apparent news. I swear that if Will is messing with me on this I will cause him some intense pain.

"What is it?" Nick asks with intensity. His eyes are locked on the arm wrapped around my shoulder and the heat of his gaze is powerful.

Will looks back to me once more and gives me one last chance to back out. I nod and allow him his chance. Will turns his head back to Nick and says "Kayla and I are kind of a thing now so she actually needed to tell you. Sorry dude." Will gives an apologetic shrug with a 'what can you do?' type expression on his face.

I try to hide the surprise on my face. Will better have a _really _good reason for this. If he doesn't I will make good on my promise. "Sorry," I add gently to make Will's lie stand a little stronger.

"You two? Together?" Nick asks bewildered and almost offended sounding.

"Um… Yeah… Is it really that shocking?" I ask nervous for his response. I don't really know what's going on for Will to be doing this, but I really have to trust him now. I let it get this far so I might as well figure out his motivation when I force him to explain this later.

The condescending look Nick gives me makes me want to punch him. I don't want to be looked upon as dumb. "You don't have to believe it for it to be true. C'mon Kayla let's go." Will's arm tugs on my shoulder and we begin to turn away from Nick.

"So we're just done here?" Nick shouts after us.

"Why wouldn't we be Nick?" I look over my shoulder to shout back.

He yells once more. "Because that is one of the most unbelievable lies I've ever heard. No one else here believes it either."

"Go throw your pity party somewhere else, Swift," Will calls without even turning around. He then quickly mutters to me "We've got to talk."

"You're telling me. You just broke up with my boyfriend for me!" I whisper back.

"Why don't you two prove it?" I hear yelled once more.

"What are we gonna do? People are starting to stare," I mumble nervously after peeking over my shoulder.

Will purses his mouth and appears to contemplate something quickly before whispering once more "Trust me."

I again give him a slight nod and suddenly his mouth has covered mine. My eyes pop open wide before sliding closed and going along with Will's plan. He evidently knew something I did not and I had to trust that. Besides whether I would admit it later or not I was enjoying this. I could feel the arm around my should grab some of my wet hair and I let one of my hands travel to his neck in response. I was shivering from the chill of the air against my soaked body or at least that was what I would claim. I wasn't about to admit the sparks I was feeling with Will. We parted as we heard a loud whistle from the café. A blush stained my cheeks and I looked straight to the ground.

"We better get you inside. You're gonna get sick from being out in the cold all drenched," Nick comments quickly pulling me along with him. I nod my head, still staring at the ground.

Once he's pulled me all the way into the shop I immediately ask "So what was all of that? What was going on? Why did you just break up with my boyfriend for me?"

"C'mon sit down and I'll explain," he reassures.

I listen to him once more because I have nothing to lose. Once we're sat down I give him an expectant look.

He sits there for a moment looking back at me before he speaks up. "Alright. Intense much?"

I simply give him an exasperated look. "I need to know what just happened!" I exclaim.

He just smirks at me a little before finally giving me even the tiniest answer. "I just saved you. That's what happened," he states this as though it is fact.

"Saved me from what?" My voice rises with my stress. "The common cold?"

He rolls his eyes at me and places a hand on each of my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down. It doesn't give quite that effect, but I settle slightly under his gaze anyway. When I appear to have relaxed enough for Will's taste he adds "Nick was going to break up with you out there. I don't know why before you ask. All I know is that Dink and Sam overheard his two buddies talking on the pipe and no one deserves that kind of humiliation." He rises from his seat and heads over to the towel rack before grabbing one and tossing it to me.

I catch it and pull it around my body as I process this information. Nick was going to break up with me. Why would he do that? I thought everything was going fine. Oddly enough I wasn't terribly upset. Maybe it hadn't actually fully sunk in because of the odd way everything had gone down. "Whoa," I whisper in shock. I blink rapidly as though I might wake up and all of this was a crazy dream. I, of course, don't and I continue soft spoken "Thanks though. That would've been very embarrassing. Looking like this was bad enough." I grumble.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I didn't really think about the repercussions though… So I apologize on that front. Also I don't think you look that bad. You're just a little wet. Besides I think you look pretty nice in that jacket," Will teases as he walks back over and sits down next to me once more.

"Oh yeah… We did just tell them that we were together now. What are we gonna do at school?" I ask him my anxiety quickly returning as my cheeks brightened all over again.

He gives me an amused look before replying "Didn't I just get you calmed down? Relax. Everything will be fine. We can fake it for a few weeks and then breakup. It shouldn't be too hard."

I blush even more at the thought of fake dating Will the next few weeks. I don't know about that working out. I felt a little too much with him earlier and I have a feeling our inevitable fake breakup would hurt me more than Nick and I's real one.

* * *

Senior year had been going so great. Prom was turning out to truly be one of the best experiences of my life. It had been over two years since the day Will and I had begun fake dating and about two weeks after that we had realized that the way we were acting wasn't all that fake and agreed to actually try it out. Let's just say that things were going great and no one, but us, Dink, and Sam were aware that it was ever a lie at all.

Slow dancing to one of my favorite songs with my favorite boy was truly one of my best memories. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Especially when he placed his lips to mine once more.

**AN- I hope this isn't too bad. Reviews make me update faster. Just saying.**


	3. Chapter 3 Avalanche

**AN- So I'm back once again. I'm trying to write somewhat ahead so this was written immediately after the posting of chapter 2.**

**Rescue would've been a good title for this one as well… I may change the titles… Opinions?**

**Thanks again to LoveShipper for reviewing.:)**

**I leave for college in a week so I am trying to write some ahead of time because this is going to be a big transition for me. Just give me a little slack okay?:) I really appreciate it all!**

**Nothing really to say this time around except this one is a little shorter than the others… Or a lot shorter. I don't care. I thought it was cute and different.**

**Avalanche**

Kayla didn't truly have very many intentions of being careful when she promised the helicopter pilot. There was a reason she picked the most dangerous thing she could think of to do today. She was going to prove Will wrong because nothing was impossible and she was most definitely not afraid. Not even a little bit and she would do this and then she would do the Cloud 9. She was going to prove everybody wrong because Kayla Morgan doesn't give up and she most certainly doesn't give up without a fight.

She stood on the edge to look at the amazing view from the top of the mountain for one more moment before she propelled herself forward and began her descent down Tyson's Peak. The first little bit of the mountain was quite simple. The landscape wasn't too complicated and she only had to dodge and weave around some rocks and such, but not a big deal so far. The first problem she faced was a particularly steep section of hill where her board slipped from out from underneath her and she had to pop back up to her feet quickly. Thankfully she performed the task with ease and was off her back and on her feet sliding down the mountain face in a matter of seconds once again.

After another short ride down to an outcropping on the front of the mountain she stops to think about her next move because jumping from this ledge doesn't seem to be the right answer, but before she can even think much about her options the ledge has broken away from the cliffside and thrown her down the mountain itself. She's soon riding down the mountain again trying to outrun the snow.

She now has to beat the avalanche if she wants to survive. She keeps a good speed and maneuvers well through the ride, but she can soon feel the cool powder surrounding her and it causes her to flip and turn through the air before she actually lands on her back and begins to be weighed down by the heavy snow as it falls down to cover her quickly.

The weight of it soon paralyzes her limbs and she can't breathe through the thick layer of frozen water and it seems she's stuck in her icy grave. After spending some of the scariest moments of her life contemplating all she'd done in the world and all she hadn't had the chance to she can feel the snow being displaced from on top of her and the weight that had been compressing her lungs is alleviated. She begins to take in breaths only savoring the feeling of sweet oxygen filling her body. She finally hears Will's voice pleading with her worriedly to answer him and with all the strength and sass she can muster she utters "Nothing… Is… Impossible…"

"You risked your life just to prove a point!" He exclaims in a soft voice. "Dumb."

Kayla giggles even though her lungs still feel heavy and her brain a little scattered from her near death experience. She realizes that taking things for granted isn't something that someone who almost just died should do. Especially when a really cute boy saves your life. She responds to him gratefully, "At least you were here to save me." She takes all her strength and leans up and kisses him swiftly and chastely nearly shocking him to death once again.

He hugs her tight and wraps his arms around her to support her and keep her upright in the snow. Keeping her sitting straight would allow for easier function of the lungs and he frankly couldn't stand the thought of seeing her pretty face lay in the snow like it had been when he had found her. She didn't have much strength after being buried alive even though it had only been for a short time and him propping her up was helping her immensely. "You are crazy," he says slowly and deliberately as he holds onto her so tightly she almost squeaks.

Kayla gathers up enough strength to smirk at him and reply with "And you love it."

Will can only shake his head with a little laugh at her comment and press his lips back to hers. He was sure this girl would really be the death of him.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the happy couple, the café was filled with people that were all celebrating the adorable pair.

**AN- I figured Kayla could make the first move this time. After all GIRL POWER. That and I thought it would be different. I may do another of this scene where Will kisses Kayla, but for now I will enjoy this.**

**So this is it. I request reviews! Mostly because they make me happy, but partly because everyone will enjoy this more if you do. I promise.:)**


	4. Chapter 4 Daring

**AN- I want to reiterate that I'm leaving for college on August 25th so this is a second warning if this story begins to slow down that's why. I've been trying to write chapters ahead of time so hopefully that will help!**

**Did you know I actually get anxious having these prewritten wanting to post them for you? Because it's true.**

**Fanfiction won't allow me to look at the reviews that were posted to my story and I got two last chapter! So whoever you are if you would inbox me what you said I would really appreciate it because I love hearing from you all! **

**I now present Chapter 4 of ****_First Kiss_****…**

**Daring**

It had been a long and productive practice session. Kayla's last trip down the half pipe had her psyched for all the progress she had made training with Will. The feeling she had gotten on that last jump was invigorating. She felt so elated about landing that trick as she sped past Will she stuck her hand out for a quick high five. She wanted to get one more set in before they quit.

She dismounted her board and grabbed it to begin the trek back to the start of the pipe. Once she's made it back to the top she straps her board back on over her boots and prepares for the next round.

She hops forward and her board takes a dive down the snowy slope before her speed propels her back up the other side. She floats in the air for a moment and she spins her board around quickly and lands perfectly. While she slides back across the snow she plans her next move and once at the top executes it to perfection. She is on a roll today. Her timing is impeccable and it has given her an absolutely sunny disposition. She aims high on the next edge performing an extra turn and when she sticks it she can't help, but celebrate in her mind.

She speeds over to Will who is looking at her with an almost stern expression as she stops flawlessly in front of him. Her expectant grin portrays nothing, but the pride of how great a day she's been having on the slopes. When he shrugs as though she had only had minimal success she can't help it when she reaches out and shoves him in the shoulder just hard enough to knock him down. When he grins up at her from his place in the snow she offers him a hand unaware that she'd gained an audience.

Nick had meandered his way to the half pipe to get some practice for Fire and Ice. That was his excuse at least. He simply didn't want to admit it was because he was avoiding his father and all the stress that he caused Nick. Nick used to genuinely enjoy snowboarding and even practicing, but nowadays it was seeming to be more of an obligation or a job. He was no longer boarding for the love of it. That used to be the only reason he would pick up a board. It was simply out of love. When it was him and his board and a clear hillside of shimmering snow he felt invincible. Yet if you put him on this pipe with his father's watchful eye on his every move he tensed in discomfort and stress. Snowboarding was both Heaven and Hell for the young snowboarder.

He looked out on the pipe as he drew nearer and saw Kayla with Will Cloud. Her grin was so wide her face may very well have split in two. Nick hadn't ever seen her that happy. When Nick sees the smile on her face turn to a smirk and her shove the boy he almost thinks that it's out of malice. Once he hears her loud, harmonious, and cheerful laughter echo across the snow he knows the there is no way the push was meant to do any harm to Will at all. When he sees the easy going grin appear across the other boy's face he can feel a burst of jealousy. He had truly liked Kayla, but there was no way things could ever return to the same as they were before. Not even if he told her everything about his dad. All his hope of ever getting that girl back was lost. _It may just be for the better though, _he decides. After all she looks extremely happy there with her hand held out in peace for Will sat in the snow.

Looking up at Kayla, her face bright red from her large smiles and hearty laughter had to have been the best part of Will's day. This girl was the epitome of cheerful because today had happened to be the best day of her training as of yet. He was certain that if everyday could be as good as today he would be incredibly happy all the time. It wasn't even because that would help her towards her goal of winning Fire and Ice. No, his happiness was far more selfish. He simply enjoyed being a core part of her happiness and in turn the receiver of her affection. She was most definitely the receiver of all of his attention. If Kayla was around Will had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her. It only seemed to get worse as time went on. Dink and Sam had started making jokes to him and had almost allowed Kayla to catch them on several occasions. Will had considered murdering them to keep Kayla from finding out.

His heart would flip every time her board left the ground each practice. He was terrified that she would crash like him and lose the happiness she derived from the snow. If there was one thing he could prevent that would be it. Seeing her in the snow, so alive and daring made him want to try again, but he just knows he can't. Will is broken and his walls are slowly rebuilding. Except this time these walls aren't trying to keep everyone out of his heart. These walls are there to protect him from himself because every time she shows him something new or exciting that makes him realize how amazing life, and she, really are, a little piece of his fear is locked away.

Too many more days like this with her and Will might be on a board himself. An idea that if it had even been mentioned a year ago or even a month ago would've gotten a sarcastic laugh and pointed jab. Now as he sits on the snow staring at the outstretched hand of a beautiful girl he begins to consider that it could be a possibility.

Kayla had came into his life with a crash and knocked all of his walls down. Before he even had a chance to reassemble them fully she was persuading him to coach her and his best friends to win Fire and Ice. There's no telling what this girl could convince him to do. When he's with her he feels a little less scared and a little more daring.

He grabs the hand she's offered with a grin and instead of using it as leverage to rise to his feet he gives a quick tug and she falling into his arms with a little yelp. It's his turn to laugh at her as she struggles to gain her balance. When she's finally steady she looks over to him with a faux scowl on her face and he takes one hand to cup her cheek and pull her face towards his own.

Once their lips have collided the pair release their doubts of each other and embrace their moment fully. They were finding contentment in each other and the moment that they were sharing because both teens had been on edge about the other's feelings for weeks.

Will brings his other hand up to cup her face as well and both of her arms are resting on his shoulders. He can't believe that he actually summoned up the courage to kiss her. Kayla had a way of making him do crazy things.

Kayla hadn't been expecting this result to her day at all, but she can very well admit that if her day were cake this would be the icing, which was her very favorite part of cake. She leans into Will a little more because he's making her knees go weak and her stomach flip. When she feels as though she needs to breathe she pulls away for a moment and takes a quiet breath while the blood floods her cheeks. Her already rosy red cheeks from the cold turned crimson as she thought about what just happened.

Nick is a little too irritated over the tenderness he just witnessed Kayla and Will share. He knows that he'll never get her back but, that doesn't mean he wants it to be confirmed in front of his eyes. He backs away from what he considers a bittersweet situation to go clear his head of this new stress elsewhere. His problems with his father will just have to take the back burner for now.

Will took a deep breath and looked into the face of, what he was sure was, the most perfect girl on the planet and gave her a small smile. She giggles cutely and he can feel her shove his arm once more in retaliation for pulling her down. He's pretty sure it was worth it.

**AN- Thank you very much for reading. Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. **


	5. Chapter 5 Fake

**AN- I haven't seen anyone do this one if I'm correct… I may just be forgetting.**

**This one is the longest chapter yet! Over double the length of the previous longest chapter and it took me two days to write. Let me know if you guys prefer shorter or longer chapters. I can write them with a minimum or maximum word count in mind. On one of my previous stories I wouldn't post until the chapter was over 5,000 words.**

**Thank you to LoveShipper and Clato 27 for their lovely reviews.**

**Fake**

Seeing the looks on Dink and Sam's faces as they saw Will strap on his board had to be one of the best things I've ever seen in my whole life! Their dumbstruck faces were absolutely priceless and when I informed them that Will was going to be joining our team they were ecstatic. I was equally excited for Will to join the team, but I couldn't let him go with out a little teasing. "We don't just accept anyone. So show us what you got," I say with a playful smile and then add "and hey, no fear."

I was thrilled that Will hard agreed to join the team and I couldn't wait for Will to finally take off! He held a serious expression before he dove off the top of the pipe and went straight to the other side performing a pretty good jump for someone that had been off his board for over a year.

On the outside I was all smiles, but on the inside I was a bundle of nerves for a separate reason. If Will falls again it is all my fault and I just can't help, but worry about him. I've grown a little more than fond of him and it's gotten to the point where I can't deny that I really do like him. This whole past week for me I've been so awkward that Dink and Sam have been sending me knowing glances. It's really stressing me out and I need something that is going to calm me down from all the anxiety I've had.

I refocus on Will as he makes another jump and I hold my breath for the landing. He sticks it and continues to do so with his next trick as well. Jump after jump Will heads down the pipe and he lands every one he tries.

I let my fears slip away because Will is performing beautifully and I just can't help, but be elated at this turn of events. Will is doing amazing and when I let the stress and worry fall away my fears come true. He is falling and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have pushed him to join the team.

I slide down the side of the pipe and rush towards him with Sam and Dink on my tail. When we finally reach the spot where he's laying I worriedly call out to him and hope that he'll respond and everything will be okay.

As his body lays there motionless and silent I begin to panic. I tell Dink and Sam to go get help and as soon as they're on the move Will bursts up with a shout and scares all three of us. He laughs and I feel like I may cry from the shock on top of all the stress and I've been experiencing.

I have put myself through so much internal guilt in the past minute that I feel sick and I can't stand to even be there anymore.

Will has barely said three words and I couldn't tell you what they were because I am up and running.

I run and run and run as far away as I can get from those three boys in the pipe. I just want to be alone and I know exactly where to go.

I know the boys are shouting something, but my mind doesn't register what words they were. All I know is that they are getting quieter and that means that I'm not being followed. I'm thrilled with that turn of the events because I need this. I need to be alone for a while. Maybe forever. I'm finally out of the trail and into the trees and I know just where to look.I take a right and push past three large Blue Spruce before I reach my destination.

There's a little cave nestled under the branches of the third tree. I pull a bough to the side, duck into the small opening feet first, and slide down the smooth walls into the cave's small room. I tuck into the side of the space just large enough to easily accommodate me. I'm breathing heavily from my run and I wrap my arms around my knees so I can just let go and cry. I release my angst and fears as I lie here blubbering against the cave wall.

I can't believe that just happened. _What if it was real?_ He could've been seriously hurt and I would've been the cause of it. I can't do this anymore. I don't think I can see him anymore. It's too much anxiety and I am going to give myself an ulcer before I'm even eighteen.

I let out a large sob at the thought of not getting to see him. I like him so much, but it just hurts me to even consider continuing hanging out with him and the boys. He may have been fine, but there are a few things I am right now and fine isn't one of them. In fact I would even venture a guess that I am the exact opposite of fine.

While I'm trying to catch my breath and calm down I close my eyes. Before I even realize it, the whole world around me fades to black.

* * *

I hear the sounds of high pitched whistles and then a deep voice bellows, "Kayla!" into the winter air. I can hear the strong winds blowing up on the surface and I have no urge to answer their call.

I came out here to be by myself and I plan on staying that way. Besides there is no room for someone else to fit in here. Well at least not comfortably. Th cave is a oblong oval shape that is around 6 feet long and maybe three feet wide at it's widest point. Luckily it has a ceiling high enough that I don't have to worry about bopping my head on anything.

I check my phone to see what time it is and realize that I had slept quite a while because it was eight o'clock at night. That explains why they're searching for me. I hear the voice shout again much closer, "Kayla! Where are you?"

I recognize the voice immediately now that it's close enough for me to truly hear over the wind. Will.

Why on Earth is he out here? Does he not understand that I ran as fast as I could away from him today? You'd think he would understand.

He shouts for me again. "Kayla!" He sounds like he's right next to my cavern, but who knows with all the wind. I just hope he wanders off and goes back home so I can leave. Spending the night here was most definitely not my plan. Will yells, "A storm is kicking up. Your dad called me and said you weren't home yet. You need to get home. Kayla!" He whistles once more and pauses in hope of hearing an answer in return. I stay as silent as I can and wish with all my might that he moves on.

There is no way I'm leaving this spot until Will has left the immediate area and I hope he gives up his search soon. I don't want him stuck out here looking for me in a storm either.

When I hear the sound of his voice distance with his next shout I release a big breath. My moment of peace doesn't last long because in the next instant I hear the sound of rushing wind and a crack. I pop up quickly from my spot in the corner and pull the goggles still wrapped over my head to cover my eyes. I have to make sure Will is alright. This storm progressed quicker than I thought it would.

I move to the short tunnel and climb out of the cave. I scan my surroundings trying to see any colors in this flurry of white. I reach into my pocket and tie a pink headband into the pine tree so I can find my way back easier and set towards a patch of orange in the distance. "WILL!" I shout after him as loud as I can. "Come back this way. It's too dangerous out here!"

The orange patch moves some and I hope Will is turning around in response to my request. "Kayla?" He yells, confusion evident in his tone.

"Yes, it's me. Now come back here it's not safe!" I plead with him as I move closer to him and further from shelter. I can see him making progress towards me and notice the felled tree to my right. This must've been the crash I heard while I was still in my cave. When Will is close enough that I can almost reach him I speak loudly, "Follow me. We have to get inside."

I can hear his befuddled response of "Inside? Where?" and choose to ignore it. I need to trek back through the rising snow. Now isn't the time to play twenty questions with him.

I push through the deep snow and lead Will towards the tiny pink speck that is my headband. We can't be more than fifty feet away, but the snow is dropping in sheets and I can barely see it. I trudge forward with Will just stops behind me. It only takes us a minute to reach the tree and I brush some snow away from the bottom branch of the tree before lifting it and gesturing for Will to enter. He slowly sits on the edge of the hole and slides in the cave. I check to make sure he's moved and follow. The branch covers the cave entrance once more and I turn to face Will. "Are you insane?" I ask him, mildly irritated at his irrational behavior. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"Me?" He responds defensive and angry. "You're the one that just ran off today into the woods never to be seen again! I had no idea what to think! What did you expect me to do? Just sit at home and wonder if you were gonna be alright!"

I pull my goggles off my face and can see him more clearly. The cave has darkened since earlier today, but there is still enough light that I can make out the offended expression on his face. I'm sure he can see the scowl gracing my face as well. "That's exactly what you should've done," I state simply. "I can take care of myself. Obviously." I gesture to the excellent shelter round us. "What was your plan? To wander around in a blizzard until you got pneumonia? What on Earth were you thinking, Will?" I mask my concern with anger and refuse to meet his gaze.

His voices rises with his temper as we both sit on opposite sides of the small cave. I've drawn my knees back up to my chest and he's leaning against the wall with his legs sprawled in front of him. "My plan was to find you and make sure you were safe. Especially after that stunt you pulled today. What is wrong with you Kayla?"

My eyes flash in offense. "What's wrong with me?" I shout. "What is wrong with me? Whatever Will. Just don't talk to me. I'm done. I quit." I send him a harsh glare before returning to look at my knees. I swivel my body so my back is pressed against the cave wall and my feet are touching the other side.

There is a long silence between us. I think he may have taken what I said to heart and I could make it out of this storm without somehow embarrassing myself. I feel like we sit in silence listening to the storm for almost an hour before Will speaks up quietly with, "Why did you run?"

"I don't want to talk about it Will. Just leave me be," I blow him off, hoping that he'll just drop the topic completely and we can go back to our peaceful, yet awkward silence.

I can hear him shifting across the now pitch black cave and I would guess it's out of discomfort. I don't think he'd budged from his spot the whole time we had been here. I was lucky to be used to this cave and sitting in one of my preferred spots. He didn't have that luxury and I did feel a little bit bad about that, however he could be stuck in the blizzard and a slightly uncomfortable cave was much better than freezing to death. This cave had been growing colder as well so I couldn't imagine the temperatures outside.

"I'm gonna check the surface and make sure the tree isn't so packed with snow that we're trapped in here." I say aloud before turning out of my cubby and sliding my hand along the upper wall to find the exit. I shove my boot into one of the foot holds and stand upright so I can reach ground level. I stare up at the bough that covers the cave's only entrance and exit point before giving it a rough shove. It jumps up some, but it doesn't move far enough for me to get out. The weight on the branch keeps me from holding it up to high or too long.

I jump when Will's voice sounds from underneath me. "Do you need any help?"

I'm torn between stubbornly declining and struggling with this branch, all the while putting our lives in danger as it will only gather more snow, and just accepting his help and facing an absolutely painfully awkward situation. With a deep breath I answer, "I think I am going to because this branch is really heavy. Getting trapped inside this cave is not on my to do list." In my head I silently add, 'Especially with you because this is the most awkward experience of my life.'

"Alright. So how about I push the branch up and you slide out to sweep off as much snow as you can. That sound good?" He asks tentatively, as if he's afraid I'll burst.

"Sure, but it's gonna be a tight squeeze in this little entrance. I'll try to squeeze up at the very top so that you can stand where I have my foot alright?" I reply calmly. "Just feel around for my foot and it's in a little divot on the cave wall."

I can feel one of Will's hands grab the bottom of my pant leg before traveling down to my foot and finally the cave wall. While he's busy I pull my goggles back down over my eyes. Once I'm sure he's found the foot cubby I pull my foot out of the ridge and climb to the very top of the tunnel and try to keep my balance by bracing my feet to the wall and sticking my gloved hands around the edge of the exit underneath the branch. "Alright. I'm coming up," Will warns me before I hear shifting and he's pressed up against my back.

"When you push up on the branch I'm going to slip out okay?" I confirm with Will. My fingers are beginning to ache from grasping the lip of the cave entrance and I hope this gets done soon.

"Yeah," Will answers quickly. His breath tickles my ear and I stiffen slightly. "In three, two, one!" He counts down for me before he gives the limb a rough shove getting it about a foot off the ground. I push myself up and out of the cavern and twist to sit on the edge.

I set to work immediately brushing the large accumulation of snow off of the tree. It feels like I'm fighting a losing battle, but the snow appears to have settled down from earlier. I move as quickly as possible because it really is much colder up here. I lift the branch and drop back into the safety of the cave. When I hit another body I land with an oomf on top of Will. "Sorry!" I apologize vehemently. I should've checked where he was before I hopped back inside, but I probably wouldn't have seen him anyway.

I fumble to stand up and get away when Will bursts into laughter. I finally manage to get my footing and get away from him when he settles down. "C'mon! That was funny. Any other time you would've laughed at that. What's up?" Will asks concerned.

"I'm fine," I answer plainly. I don't want to do this. I just want to make it out of this storm alive.

I can hear the sarcasm in Will's voice during his response. "Yeah. So that was a lie. What's the real answer?"

I sigh to convey my irritation and tell him, "I don't want to talk."

I hear him move over to me and I back even closer to the wall. "Well that sucks for you because we're talking," He demands.

I stay silent and Will takes another step towards me. "Fine. We'll talk, but just back up some okay?" I allow.

"Why?" Will asks with genuine concern.

"Will you just do it?" I plead.

He stands there silent for a moment before saying with a firmness. "No. I won't. You've been acting weird for over a week now and I'm done just ignoring it. You're gonna explain and I can stand right here while you do because I deserve to know. It's worrisome Kayla."

I twist my hands together and look at my now visible breath in discomfort. At least he can't see my face. That would only make this more difficult for me. I stutter slightly as I begin speaking, "I-I'm sorry." It's all I can manage to say before I've broken down again and I'm shaking. I lean back into the wall and wish with all my might it would just swallow me whole.

"Kayla? Are you okay?" Will's concern is clear and he reaches out and grabs my wrist.

I'm choking back my sobs with as much effort as I have. I don't want to do this. This is far too embarrassing and all the stress that I have put on myself these past weeks has clearly made me crack. I'm broken and helpless and I have no way of holding it back any more.

When Will figures out I'm not going to answer him he pulls my wrist and I limply go with the tug. He says, "C'mere," while he pulls me into a tight hug.

I continue to cry into his chest for a few minutes, all the while trying to figure out how I'm going to explain all of this to him. I stammer out, "S-s-sorry Will." I sniff loudly and tears are still rolling down my cheeks.

He releases his grasp on me, but grabs me by my shoulders. "Why?"

"It's a long story, but the abridged version is I've just been putting a lot of stress on myself and kind of snapped. I really am sorry," I'm starting to calm some and my voice has lost it's quiver.

"Let's sit down okay?" Will suggests gently and he pulls me down to the cave floor by my hand. I sit crisscross, but I can feel his legs on either side of me. "What exactly were you stressing about? Maybe I can alleviate some of that. I did cause some of it when I scared you before and we are stuck in here. So we might as well work together to get you unstressed." He replies logically.

I breathe deeply for a moment and decide that resistance is futile. "I had all my average stress going on about school and stuff like that."

"Okay. Do you need any help with any certain class? I'm pretty good at math and science type courses and could help you out if you are struggling," Will offers.

I shrug even though he probably can't see me. "It's nothing really. I do fine, but I worry to much."

Will answers back, "Alright. So that's been settled somewhat, but that's not all of it. What else is there?"

"Umm… Well. I've been stressing about Fire and Ice…" I admit quietly. I'm hoping I can push this episode off on Fire and Ice and not have to explain all my feelings.

"Kayla, you honestly shouldn't stress about it. Sam, Dink, and I will be proud of you, however you do. That much you can be certain of. I can also guarantee you will give Sky a run for her money and that much is certainly something to be proud of," Will reassures me. My cheeks burn at the fact that Will is gonna be proud of me. He goes on to ask in a skeptical tone, "Is that everything?"

I swallow and answer honestly. "It's the last of it that I want to talk about."

"Okay… Well can I know why you don't want to talk about the rest of it?" Will asks politely.

I don't want to begrudge him an answer because he's being far kinder to me than I deserve. "It's just awkward and I don't really want to make this anymore awkward than it has to be." I tell him sincerely, yet vague.

Will pushes for a little more information. "Awkward in general or is it awkward because of me? I promise I won't judge you. I know we haven't been friends for very long, but you can tell me."

"It's awkward because it's you…" I admit quietly.

Will attempts to put me at ease, "You can tell me. Really I just want to help. No judgement. I promise."

I sit quietly for around a minute before I finally tell him, "I really can't Will. I'm sorry."

"So it's about me then," Will states.

My eyes widen and I'm thankful for the darkness. "Ummm…"

"Well I'll admit something to you first. Then we'll talk about how I'm causing you stress," Will tells me. He pauses for a moment before continuing, "Thank you so much. You have pushed me harder than anyone ever has. You encouraged to get me back on the pipe and then today on my board… It was amazing. I forgot how fantastic it feels to ride and I have you to thank for that. So just… Thanks."

I blink a few times before stumbling through my words somewhat, "Um. It was no big deal. So, uh, yeah. No thanks required."

Will exclaims quickly. "That's it!"

"What?" I ask.

"Were you seriously stressed about that? About my fall?" he asks me seriously.

I'm baffled that he's figured me out, for the most part, in less than half a minute.

"Kayla?" He pulls me back out of my own world.

"Well a little bit…" I admit to him. I'm a complete sucker and by the time we get home I might as well move because he'll be completely creeped out. "I'm the one that convinced you to do it! So now if you get hurt it's my fault!" I exclaim.

Will scoots forward slightly and puts his hands on my arms to get my attention. When he gets this close I can make out his features and I'm afraid because that means he can see me. "Hey," He says softly to get my attention. "It isn't your fault at all. It's my choice and I would never blame you so you shouldn't blame you either."

Just because I shouldn't doesn't mean I won't. I don't respond to him because I've given too much away already. My eyes stray from Will and to the dark walls of the cave. I think that this boy is trying to kill me.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he asks. "Why can't you just look at me?"

My eyes flash up to his and he's looking at me with such intensity my eyes flick away again.

"See! That!" He exclaims. "Why do you do that?"

I gather up my courage and look him straight in the face. "I just do. Alright."

Will rolls his eyes at me and calls me out. "So you're lying again. Which by the way you aren't very convincing."

"I don't have to be convincing." I say monotonous as I again avert my gaze from the boy in front of me.

He grimaces. "What aren't you telling me? I know it has to be something big. You wouldn't hide so much. Plus this has to be the thing that has had you acting so odd the past week."

I sit quietly and fidget a little bit. I really want to pull my knees up to me and hide.

"C'mon Kayla. Don't you trust me?" Will moves into my line of vision and the look on his face almost breaks my resolve. He looks hurt by the fact that I won't tell him, but it would change so much. Even if it was for the better.

"Yes," I sigh. I won't lie to him because I really do trust him.

I see him blink several times out of the corner of my eye, as though he wasn't expecting that response. When I wait a few moments I seem to have stunned him into silence and decide that if he wants to know so bad I should tell him. He's brought any consequences on himself.

"Do you trust me?" I ask him deliberately.

Will is still stunned, but answers me, "Of course."

"Are you willing to take responsibility for any changes after you learn this? We might not be able to be friends because you won't want to be friends anymore." I ask him dead serious as I look him straight in the eye. I want him to know that what he's going to learn is actually serious and will seriously effect our dynamic.

"I don't foresee that happening." Will answers, his voice having a sort of finality in it's tone.

"Whatever you say." I whisper before rising to my knees and leaning in to Will. I grab the collar of his shirt and press my lips to his, figuring this will get my point across much better than any words I could come up with to awkwardly spew while my face turned into a tomato. When I move to pull back Will's arms grab my waist and hold me there. He begins kissing me back and I melt because every part of my being was prepared for rejection and this doesn't seem to be what I got. I bring my hands to his shoulders and we part soon after. I lean back awkwardly and stare at the ceiling unsure of what to do or where to go now.

Will breaks the silence with, "You were right about one thing Kayla. We most definitely can't be friends now."

As he moves closer I can see his sly smirk and he's begun kissing me again. I simply enjoy the effortless feeling for now because by the time we're out of the storm we're going to have to discuss 'us', but for now I'm just content right where I am.

**AN- So I hope there aren't too many mistakes I was writing this while extremely tired.**

**My headcanon for this one is that Will is pretty known for randomly popping up and kissing Kayla randomly (including very public places like school, the mall, out boarding) and then stating "Wouldn't want you to get stressed." The whole town knows he does it, but the pair refuse to explain what it means and no one has ever been told the story of how they got together.**

**It frustrates Pia and Lindsey greatly because they feel they should get the story as Kayla's best friends. Dink and Sam just want to know why Will smiles when anyone mentions they're stressed out.**


	6. Chapter 6 Hallway

**AN- Welcome back guys. This one will be much fluffier than yesterday's chapter. Thankfully. I honestly don't know what happened and I'm quite sure if I liked it…**

**This is for Clato 27 because she requested it and inspired me to write it the way I have.**

**I'd also like to state that I am a teenage girl and writing from Will's POV was a bit of a challenge. I hope I didn't botch it up too much. **

**The movie dialogue here was actually exactly copied because I had the movie going in the background and this scene came on. Also I blushed furiously the whole time I was writing this and whenever this scene of the movie comes on because I'm not a big flirty person and I get second hand embarrassment from the thought of that ever occurring.**

**On with the story!**

**Hallway**

"Hey!" I approach Kayla in the hall to ask her about later today, but before I can she's already spoken.

"Hi! Uh, do you think that my hands are small?" She lifts her hand up and I reach out and take it.

"They look fairly regular sized to me, " I say slightly confused by her question, but grateful for the excuse to hold her hand.

She looks back up to my face and says, "Uh, well, why don't you hold it a bit more normal?" She requests.

I slide my hand around hers to grasp it as if I were actually holding her hand and with a small smirk ask, "Is this better?"

Her eyes have flicked from our hands to my face again. She replies quietly, almost shy, "Yeah, much."

I suddenly register that our exchange is being shamelessly watched by her two best friends and begin to feel slightly awkward about the situation. Kayla turns away from me to look over into the cafeteria. My eyes follow her gaze and I see Nick leaning at a table with Skye. He's looking our way as well and I realize that, that's what this is all about. I'm disappointed that for Kayla I'm just a little revenge. I thought she was actually being genuine. The smile has fallen from my face at this understanding.

I've always been told that there's always a little grain of truth to every lie. So if Kayla using me was the lie… What was the truth? Maybe she did like me somewhat, but not enough to pursue seriously yet or she was simply not quite through the woods with her problems with Nick. Whatever it was I had chosen not to care.

I determine that I get to make the decisions in my life and that if I really do want Kayla, and I'm pretty sure I do, I should just go for it. Anyways, if she wants to use me to make Nick jealous I'm pretty positive this will.

As soon as she turns to look back at me I place my free hand under her chin and tip her head back slightly to kiss her. The kiss is quick and a little rough, but it got my point across. When I release her from my grasp I simply turn on my heel and head off to my next block. I had caught a glimpse of her surprised expression before I had turned away from her and it was pretty adorable. While I was walking away I stole a glance over to where Nick had previously been and see him standing there with smoke practically rolling out of his ears. He's seething and it's absolutely hilarious for me.

I was never one to play mind games for a competition, but for me this isn't about Fire and Ice. I genuinely like Kayla and angering Nick is only an additional benefit for me. After sending a smug grin his way I head off to class.

* * *

I'm running a bit early for practice with Kayla, Dink, and Sam today. We didn't have to work in the shop until later today and I was going to get at least one run in before those three made it here. I had reached the top of the hill and when I took off I felt like today was gonna be pretty great. I landed all my moves and was prepared to trek all the way back up to the top of the pipe when Sam and Dink showed up.

"Hey Will!" Sam shouts from about forty yards away.

"What's up?" Dink pitches in.

I smile at my best friends and make a slow jog over to the pair. I set my board down at my feet while I reply. "Hey. Just got my first run in. Today is gonna be great," I grin widely at them.

Sam's eyes widen and he looks as if someone may have shot him. "Are you alright bro?" I ask him curious.

He rubs at his eyes a few times and then nods. "Yeah. I must've been seeing things."

"Did you wipeout again?" Dink asks concerned. "You've gotta be more careful dude. You're gonna do some serious damage one day."

I'm still a little worried for Sam's mental stability when I feel a yank on my arm. I turn around to see who it is and I'm being kissed. I immediately freeze out of shock and when it's over, I see Kayla standing in front of me.

"Consider that payback," she laughs with a proud grin on her face for surprising me. I blink a few times and when I look behind her I can once again see an extremely livid Nick Swift.

I laugh loudly at the look on his face and this causes Kayla to turn around. She spots Nick soon and then begins laughing just as loud as I am. I comment, "For someone with a girlfriend he looks awfully jealous."

Kayla nods, "He sure does." She giggles and I just grin back at her.

"What just happened?" Dink exclaims from behind me.

I turn back to face him and side step so that I don't block Kayla from our circle. "Kayla and I have been messing with Nick's head all day. For some reason it really irritates him when I do things like this." I sling an arm over Kayla's shoulders and I'm sure that Nick is not pleased.

Sam says slightly bemused, "I didn't even know someone's face could get that red…"

Kayla and I both crack up at his comment and the boys join soon after. It's the hardest I've laughed in my whole life.

**AN- My headcanon for this one is that during the weeks leading up to the competition Dink and Sam both point out to the pair that it didn't seem like playing around. There was a little bit of dancing around each other for a day or so before the consensus is that they had been acting couply for weeks to make Nick angry. Now they just had to do it to make themselves happy.**

**Also there will more than likely be another oneshot from this scene. I came up with several ideas for it. I'm not quite sure if I like how I ended this one…**

**I feel like my endings haven't been very strong the past few chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7 Remember

**AN- Kayla in this fic is a little bit based off of me. When I played sports in high school I was referred to as the team mom. When someone was hurt I was the first one to help in most situations. I also tend to use a lot of terms of endearment when I'm helping someone that is injured or sick.**

**The tonsils thing is based on me as well. Also the cheap date lingo is used in the hospital where I stayed.**

**Thanks to LoveShipper and Clato 27 for their lovely reviews. They make me oh so happy!:)**

**New longest chapter alert.**

**This is going to sound absolutely insane, but this is actually inspired by The Little Mermaid to a degree. Just stay with me alright. I hope it'll make sense at the end.**

**Also there are no mermaids.**

**Here. Have a story.**

**Remember**

Watching all these amazing boarders was a phenomenal experience for me. I couldn't believe that out of all these boarders one of the guys I went to school with was a shoe in for the win. He literally just had to complete this run to win Fire and Ice's mens' category.

I swell with pride for him. It's kind of cool to think about it. We have a math class together and he's about to win one of the biggest snowboarding competitions there are. I watch him ride down from my place on the edge of the crowd. I was lucky enough to be close to the action, but the angle I was at made it hard for me to see to the very back of the pipe.

I could hear the hoots and hollers from the crowd around me and I knew that Will must be doing well. He rides into my view and I cheer loudly at his next trick. He heads up the pipe for the last time and it seems like the whole world is in slow motion. Will didn't make his trick and as he fell through the air the crowd let out a gasp and quieted to an almost dead silence.

I was the first one to react to his still form lying on the ground. "Will!" I shout as I rush over to him. I kneel next to his body and pull his goggles from his eyes. "Are you alright?" I ask him quietly.

He lets out a groan and I look down at his leg. It's lying crooked at his ankle on the ground. It's most definitely going to warrant a ride to the hospital, so I turn to shout over my shoulder.

"He's going to need some help! Call a medic!" I look back to Will and see him blinking his eyes slowly. I say softly to him, "No, no, no. You need to keep your eyes open, okay? C'mon Will. Stay awake for me."

He appears to push his eyes open with great effort and squints a little at me.

I grab one of his hands and give it a slight squeeze. "Staying awake is important, okay? You need to be awake. Can you talk? My name is Kayla. I go to school with you."

He mumbles something I can't make out over the murmurs of the audience. I don't push him to repeat it, but his eyes are fluttering again.

"Nu-uh. Keep your eyes open," I squeeze his hand again with a little more pressure. When his eyes are open once more I begin to speak again. "We have math class together. Did you know that? In fact I'll let you borrow my notes because you will be in the hospital for at least a few days I'm sure. Sound good?"

Will is muttering something again. It sounds like a denial of staying in the hospital, but I can't be positive.

"So where is most of your pain at?" I ask him. It will be important information to know for the medics.

He groans a bit and I lean closer so that I can hear him better. "Chest and leg," his reply is breathy, but I can make out his answers.

I squeeze his hand again and answer with, "Well the ambulance shouldn't take too much longer. It just has to pull through the crowd. Alright?"

I can hear feet crunching on snow and can spot a brunette woman running this way with a terrified look on her face. "Is Will alright?" She asks worriedly. The tone of her voice carries in a way only a mother's would. I'm positive that this woman is Will's mom.

"I'm pretty positive either his leg or his ankle is broken. I can't be quite sure because of the placement. He also mentioned his chest hurt though. I'm not sure what issue he's having there because there aren't any real visual cues," I inform the woman swiftly and professionally, as if I was ripping off a bandaid. Coddling her right now wouldn't help her or more importantly Will. "I'm Kayla by the way." I give my rudimentary introduction as I turn back to Will. He's closed his eyes once more. "Will open up your eyes. You have to stay awake. It's the only way things will get better, hon," I squeeze his hand tightly and can hear the ambulance rolling through the snow to get Will.

He's forcing his eyes open again per my request.

"The ambulance is almost here. You're gonna be fine," I reassure him. I squeeze his hand once more then release it and stand back up. I'm practically tackled by the woman I still haven't confirmed to be Will's mom, as soon as I'm upright. She's crying and almost hysterical. I wrap my arms around her in an attempt at comforting her. "He's gonna be okay ma'am. I'm sure of it."

I peek from where I'm standing to make sure Will is still awake and see that he appears to be struggling. The ambulance is seconds away and I pull away from the hug. I crouch back down and grab onto Will's hand. "The ambulance is here. You'll have help in just a few seconds, alright?" I squeeze his hand one last time and stand back up. "I better go miss."

"I know this is pretty big to ask, but could you please come with me? I don't think I can do this alone," she requests. Her eyes are red and puffy and her features show copious amounts of stress.

I think for a moment and finally decide on a response, "I'll call my father. Just give me a minute." The paramedics are already looking over Will somewhat. They're being quite ginger with his leg and while I dial my phone I can hear the paramedics being informed of Will's chest and leg pain. My dad picks up and I explain to him the situation quickly. I don't want to hold up any progress. My dad gives me his blessing and I give a thumbs up to let the woman know I'm okay to go with her. Once I'm done on the phone they're loading Will up into the ambulance. The paramedics offer both of us a hand up into the vehicle before it speeds to the hospital.

"I'm sorry. I don't believe I ever told you, but I'm Will's mom," she confirms my earlier suspicion.

I smile at her in a soothing manner. "I figured you were. I could tell by how worried you were." She nods and casts a worried look over to her son. The paramedics are working over him by removing some of his gear, preparing an IV, and such. "Ms. Cloud, I'm sure that he's going to be fine."

"I hope so," she states simply.

"I'm sure of it. I know he's going to be a fighter for you," I answer back truthfully. Being nice is never a bad thing to do and Will's mom needs a little kindness right now.

We've reached the hospital and I hop out of the back of the ambulance to clear the way. I offer a hand up for Ms. Cloud and she takes it to step out of the vehicle. We both slide to the side and the paramedics bring Will out on the gurney. We follow them as they push him into the hospital. Once inside I'm overwhelmed by the volume of the space and can't make out what is being said for the most part. I hear them say that Will isn't breathing well, but can't hear the reason why. We're told to stay in a small waiting room while Will is pushed back for surgery.

As soon as the word surgery leaves the doctor's mouth Will's mom is in tears. I strain to hear him say that one of Will's lungs has collapsed and they have to go in to fix it. I nod numbly to dismiss the doctor and I turn to face Ms. Cloud. "He's gonna be okay," I give her words of comfort and she takes my hand.

"Thank you for coming," she whispers with tears in her eyes.

I give her a soft smile. "Anytime."

We sit in the waiting room for close to an hour, chatting away about nothing. I attempt to distract her with the conversations. I'm sure her thoughts would only stray to her son's condition and she would assume the worst. I tell her that I go to school with her son, that we're in the same grade, and even the same math class. She seems elated at that development. "It's great to hear that Will has such excellent friends," she smiles widely.

I hate to burst her bubble, but I have to let her know. "Actually I don't believe that we've ever spoken," I tell her. "Excluding today of course."

She responds shocked. "Oh. I thought you were close friends the way you were helping him."

"No," I give her a small smile. "I was just doing the right thing. I'm not opposed to being his friend, I just don't believe him and I have ever talked."

"Well I'm glad you helped him. I'm sure it made a load of difference," Ms. Cloud says with a firmness that I wouldn't argue with.

We sit quietly for a minute and a doctor comes out the doors that they had pushed Will through the last we saw him. "You're Will Cloud's mother?" the doctor addresses Ms. Cloud.

"Yes," she says and all of the stress that I had worked to fade from her features was back.

"He's all fine. He's stable and should be waking any minute. Would you like to come and see him? I can explain more on the way to his room." The doctor offers.

"What kind of a question is that?" she laughs. "Of course!" Her face has relaxed since she heard of Will's improved condition. She immediately stands and walks over to the doors that the doctor is standing by. She turns back to me and asks, "Well aren't you coming?"

I reply quickly, "I just thought you may want some time alone with your son."

She raises an eyebrow at me and says, "You essentially saved my son's life. You get to come."

I stand quickly and walk over to her and the doctor. He instructs us to follow him and while we walk down to the elevator begins to explain Will's injuries. His ankle shattered in the crash and he broke a rib that then punctured his lung. It caused him to have trouble breathing and he was lucky to be alive. The doctor informs us that he also tore a tendon in his knee and they had gone in to repair that as well. He was going to have to be on crutches for at least eight weeks. I grimace at that because that means he's not boarding for at least then if not even longer. I know that I love boarding because I feel so free and happy.

We reach Will's room and the doctor escorts us inside. He lets us know a nurse should be in to check on him any minute. I take a seat by the wall away from the bed and Will's mom approaches him immediately. She drops her purse in the floor by the head of his bed and begins speaking to him. "Will…" She speaks softly and grabs for his hand. "Will sweetie it's your mom. Can you wake up for me?"

I look into my lap because I don't want to intrude on a mother, son moment. I twist my fingers around and hear Ms. Cloud speak again. "It's so nice to see you awake again."

"Hmm," I hear Will's deeper voice groan. I'm sure he's just waking up and is most likely still under some affects of the anesthetic.

"Feel a little sore?" Will's mom asks him.

I hear a deeper breath before Will answers her, "Yeah."

The door swings open and a nurse walks in. "Nice to see you awake. I'm Eloise and I'll be your nurse for the time being," she approaches the hospital bed and I watch their interaction. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore and tired," Will replies.

"That's normal and to be expected," Eloise tells him. "Are you experiencing any pain, headaches, or sensitivity to light or sound?"

Will sits quiet for a moment before he answers her, "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I've got everything going well."

The nurse smiles and lets him know that she's available at the press of a button. "Your mom and girlfriend need to leave by nine o'clock because that's when visiting hours are over in pediatrics." She heads out the door and I can feel my face flush. Will appears very confused and I return my gaze to my lap.

"What was she talking about?" Will asks confused to his mom. The chair I'm sitting in isn't very visible from where Will's bed is located.

My phone goes off and draws his eyes over to me. I answer my phone still red faced, "Hi daddy." I stand and step out of the room to speak with my father he wants to know when I'll be coming home and I let him know, but continue to eavesdrop on Will and Ms. Cloud's conversation.

"Mom, who was that?" I hear Will ask.

With a small pause I hear his mom tell him, "That's Kayla. She goes to school with you. She kind of saved your life today." My face burns once more at the credit that I'm given by Will's mom. I didn't do much of anything.

"She's not really my girlfriend then?" Will asks curiously.

His mom laughs and replies, "No. She said that today was the first time she had ever talked to you. Even if it was to just keep you awake while the ambulance came."

I take a few deep breaths and can feel the heat drain from my face. I walk back into the room as nonchalant as possible. "My dad just wanted to know when I would be home," I let them know.

"Does he want you home any earlier sweetie? I can take you and drop you off," Ms. Cloud offers.

I shake my head quickly. "No ma'am, but if you'd like me to go my father is willing to pick me up. I wouldn't want to intrude on your time."

"You aren't an intrusion at all Kayla. I promise," her smile is one of comfort and reminds me of my mom's.

"Alright." I give her a small smile back and return to my chair, prepared to sit quietly for around the next forty five minutes.

Ms. Cloud gives me a funny look. "You aren't going to talk to us?" She asks me.

"I just don't want to be a bother," I shrug. No matter what happened today it doesn't mean I know these two. Will and I haven't been friends for years or known each other for even a month.

"You aren't," Will volunteers. "Thanks by the way. My mom says you saved my life. I don't remember a whole ton of that part of my day."

I roll my eyes. "She's overstating things. I just kept you awake for the paramedics. I didn't do anything amazing."

"I'm sure that it made a difference. I'm Will by the way. That way we have a sort of formal introduction," Will responds.

I smile and introduce myself, "I'm Kayla."

"Nice to meet you while I'm mostly in my right mind. I'm feeling a little drowsy actually," Will admits.

I giggle some, "It's called being a cheap date." When both Will and his mom are giving me confused looks I laugh some more. "The sedatives from your surgery probably haven't worn off all the way. I won't be surprised if you don't remember meeting me tomorrow. It's commonly referred to as being a cheap date by lots of hospital workers. When I got my tonsils removed I apparently kept asking where I was and why I was in a bubble. I don't remember any of it."

"Really?" Ms. Cloud asks me seriously.

I nod. "Absolutely."

She frowns. "Well that's disappointing."

"Or it could be fun. You could tell him a bunch of stuff that he isn't gonna remember in the morning," I chuckle.

"Don't do that! It's not fair," Will forbids. I laugh at the pouty face he makes and his mom does as well.

For around the next half hour there is some general chatting and then Eloise drops by to tell us we need to head out.

"Thank you very much for coming and staying with me a while. Also for saving my life. Whether you believe that you did or not," Will grins.

I smile back at him. "It was truly no big deal. I just did what any normal, good person would do."

Will's mom goes to the side of his bed and gives him a little hug. She says, "Goodnight sweetie."

I wave goodbye to Will and his face is the color of a tomato. At least I'm not the only one that got embarrassed tonight.

The ride home with Will's mom was uneventful until the very end. When I had her take me down my driveway. "You live here?" She asks with disbelief.

"Yeah… My dad owns the resort," I answer timidly. I don't really want to brag about the benefits of having my father own the place.

"I had no idea," she replies still with a shocked tone.

I give her an awkward smile and tell her, "I try not to throw it around too much. I don't want that reputation or to be used."

She nods appreciatively. "That makes sense," She pauses for a moment before continuing. "Thank you again for everything. For going with me and saving Will. I really do appreciate it."

"I honestly don't believe that I saved him. If anything it was the paramedics. They deserve your thanks so much more," I disagree. "Thank you for the ride home though I really appreciate it."

She sighs at my dismissal of her thanks, but responds, "It was no problem. Have a nice night."

I hop out of the car, "Goodbye Ms. Cloud! I'll drop of Will's work at your shop tomorrow!"

"Thank you sweetie," She rolls the window up and backs out of the driveway. I wave one last time before heading into my house.

* * *

It's been months and I haven't spoken to Will since that day in the hospital. I'm positive that he doesn't remember me, but every now and then I catch him giving me an odd look. I shake it off and try not to fuss about it. Snowboarding appears to be the only thing we have in common and he's never gotten back on a board since his accident. He's off his crutches and no more cast, but he still has physical therapy for his knee.

Maybe the looks are completely unrelated to that day. I've become more popular than ever before now that Nick has decided to flirt with me.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about him, but he seems very sweet and he's a boarder too. We would be able to practice together and that's something.

* * *

Nick and I have become an item and a few more months have passed since the accident.

I ran into Will in the hallway. Literally, ran into him and about knocked him down. For a second I was sure that I'd jogged his memory, but he shook his head and we parted ways.

I guess I was right about one thing from that day. He really doesn't remember me. I sometimes run into Ms. Cloud and we'll chat for a few moments. Every conversation with her ends with a thank you. I keep dismissing her sentiments of gratitude, but she doesn't give up on it.

I don't know why I still care about this boy that I've never really spoken to, but I do.

* * *

Today was absolutely horrible. The dogs at the kennel had been horrible. I'd been soaked in bath water before having to chase them all around the mountain for Ms. Cloud. I'd offered to help her in the shop on days that her son was busy before, but now it was awkward because it was supposed to be a punishment.

Then I'd been publicly dumped by my boyfriend right after I was kicked off of my snowboarding team.

I burst into the shop with the dogs finally under my control and on their leashes. I'm soaked from head to toe and shivering from the mountain air. "What happened to the sweet little dogs from last year? Do people not train their dogs anymore?" I vent frustrated.

"What happened?" Ms. Cloud exclaims.

"Donald. Donald happened," I repeat for emphasis. "I'll admit my day had already been going horribly, but thanks to Donald I was shoved into a bath tub and then forced to chase a whole pack of dogs around the mountain. Whilst doing that I was humiliated by my now ex-boyfriend and kicked off of my team." I drop the leashes at my feet and the dogs take off to a corner of the shop.

Ms. Cloud comes over to me and envelopes me in a hug. "It sounds like a rough day. Let's get you over to the fire and get you something warm to drink. You're freezing." I'm lead to the left hand side of the shop where there is a small fireplace and an ottoman. Once I'm sat down Ms. Cloud wanders off.

"Here," I hear a deeper voice from over my shoulder and a towel is placed next to me.

"Oh thanks," I turn and smile at my helper. I don't know why the fact that it was Will shocked me so much, but it did.

His smile seems forced, "It's no problem." I take the towel and drape it over my shoulders to hold in a little warmth.

Ms. Cloud walks back with a warm mug and makes a small noise of surprise. "Oh! It's nice to see you two talk." She meanders over to me and hands over the mug.

"Why? We've never met," Will responds slightly confused.

"Maybe it's because she has always wanted me to meet you. She always talks about you," I cover quickly. I really don't want his mom to tell him that I was there at the crash. I just feel like it would be awkward and cause discomfort for both of us.

The look Ms. Cloud gives me is a little awkward, but I smile at her and hope she just backs me up. "Really mom?" Will complains.

"I've always wanted you to meet Kayla. She's a really great person. She's really helped me out this past year," she compliments me and I look into my mug with rosy cheeks.

"It was nothing," I mutter still looking down before taking a sip of the hot cocoa she provided me.

Will looks between us confused. "What did she do?"

"I just ran errands for her while you were busy. I don't know why she makes such a big deal of it," I sigh.

She gives me a disapproving look, but drops the topic. "I'm sorry your day was so horrible, sweetie." She sits down next to me and wraps an arm around my now toweled shoulders.

"It's all good. None of it was your fault. I blame Nick. I'll probably go home and go for a ride later to calm down," I inform her. "I need the distraction."

She squeezes my shoulders and quickly asks. "How about Will takes you home and you can go together?" I can see her smirk, but Will has already traveled back to the kennels and is out of sight.

There's a small crash and an exclamation of, "Ow!" followed soon after by, "What?" from Will.

"You don't need to do that," I reject Ms. Cloud's idea and tell her, "I'm fine. I can walk home. In fact I think I'll go home now because I have plans with my dad." I excuse myself and take one more sip of my cocoa before I set it down. I stand up, pull the towel from over my shoulders, and toss it into the laundry bin.

"You shouldn't walk home like that Kayla. You're going to get sick," Ms. Cloud scolds as any mother would.

I shrug at her. "I already trekked practically the entire mountain. What's a little ways down the road?"

She shakes her head and Will asks, "You live down the road from here?"

I nod awkwardly. "My father owns the resort. He built our house where the very center of this place was when it first started. Obviously we've expanded and that's not true anymore, but yeah. That's my house." I shrug once more and begin to head to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" I call out and the door closes behind me.

I can hear Ms. Cloud call out my name, scolding me for choosing to walk in the cold, but I keep moving. She was just trying to cause trouble.

* * *

A few weeks have passed and I haven't been running into Will at all. It almost seemed as though he was avoiding me. I don't understand why, but that was how it appeared.

"Hey!" I hear a guy's voice yell from behind me.

Another one shouts, "Wait up Blondie!"

I freeze in my tracks. I'm one of the only blondes in school and scanning the crowd I don't see anyone else that fits that description. "It's nice to finally meet you."

I turn to see the boy's that were addressing me. "What do you mean?" I ask them perplexed by their statement.

The pair consisted of a shorter African American boy and a bulkier, blond white guy. Both were dressed like any of the other boarders I'd met. "We finally figured it out. Will hasn't even figured it out, but we have," the bigger guy tells me.

My eyes widen in shock before I choose to play it cool. "Figure what out?" I ask them pretty convincingly.

The African American boy gives me look before responding with, "Don't play, Little Miss Hero."

"Shh!" I quiet him. "How do you know about that? Did his mom tell you?"

"No, but you did just confirm our suspicions. So thanks," He responds with a little laugh.

I sigh. "What do you want? You obviously know that I haven't told him. Also I have a reason so if that's why you're hear you're not gonna convince me to spill it to him."

"We could just tell him…" The blond boy suggests.

"No!" I practically shout. Thankfully in the relatively crowded hall it doesn't make a big fuss. I continue in a more normal tone, "Please don't"

The boys blink at my outburst, "We won't, but can you meet with us after school at the pipe?" the shorter boy asks.

I let out another frustrated sigh. "Yeah I suppose."

"Good. See you then," He tells me before the pair head off to their class, as I do with mine.

* * *

"So what is this about?" I ask the boys. "I'm going to assume you know that I'm Kayla."

The blond speaks, "I'm Sam and this is Dink." He gestures to his friend.

"We're Will's best friends," Dink pitches in.

I nod at them, "Alright. So why does that matter?"

"He has dreams about you." Dink tells me.

I sit there dumbstruck for a moment. "Excuse me? What?"

Sam shakes his head a little. "You make it sound creepy, Dink. They're not about you per say, but about the crash and the girl that kept him alive until the medics came."

I look at them both in disbelief. "You're lying."

"No. We're not I promise. He wants to meet that girl. The doctor told him that her keeping him awake saved him from his lungs giving out sooner," Sam tells me.

Dink pitches in, "You really did save his life Kayla. Thank you."

I can't think of a response to these two boys right now. They both have just given me a lot of information to process.

"It's kind of a lot of information, isn't it?" Sam says to Dink. Dink nods and I finally have mustered up some words.

"I can't tell him," I say blatantly. "He has to remember on his own. I won't deny it if he figures it out, but I'm not going to tell him."

The boys' eyes light up. "Seriously?" Sam asks sounding like he had heard he won a huge prize. I nod and the boys glance nervously at each other.

"Are we allowed to try and jog his memory?" Dink asks cautiously.

I answer hesitantly. "I'm gonna say yes, but there have to be boundaries and I get every right to just leave and quit this whole venture with you two."

In sync they both are celebrating with high fives and hollers.

"Whoa," I respond quietly, still feeling a little overwhelmed.

The calm down soon and Sam asks me a question. "Also we heard about what happened with Team Swift and we were wondering if you'd like to board with us…" He seems almost afraid of my response.

Dink jumps in with, "We would've offered whether you agreed to help with Will or not!"

"It's fine. It sounds good," I smile at the pair. "I've missed riding with a team."

"Seriously?" Sam asks me again. I nod in reply for a second time and they both grin.

"This is going to be epic," Sam states.

I sure hope so.

* * *

It has been over two weeks of the boys trying to get Will to remember that it was me that helped him at his last Fire and Ice. They'd tried having me help patch up small injuries for them, commenting on my hair, and even had me convince Will to be our coach for this Fire and Ice. None of it had worked.

Not to say that I'd had faith in any of their methods. They were all pretty lame in my opinion, but I went along with their antics to keep them happy. I had promised them after all. Though I have to admit having Will as a coach was a benefit of those antics. I had improved loads by working with him and we still had a few weeks until the competition.

Today we were heading out to the more rural part of the mountain to get a little more stability training. The trek up to the spot had been full of jokes and laughs and two compliments on my hair. I don't see why they haven't given that up yet.

Once we've reached our destination we're going to be riding down a piece of the mountain that has a few jumps, but they aren't as well maintained as the rest of the resort. After both Dink and Sam go down I start to make my way down. I manage the first jump relatively fine, the next one almost perfectly, but the one after that I completely bomb it. Next thing I know I'm sprawled like a starfish in the loose powdery snow.

The boys have all approached me, but Sam and Dink stay a ways back. They both have small glints of hope in their eyes. "I'm fine," I groan. "After all _it's the only way things will get better_."

Will looks shocked at my response. "It was you," he whispers.

I push myself out of the snow and onto my feet. The back of my mind barely registers a pair of shocked faces behind Will. "What do you mean?"

"You were the one that helped me at Fire and Ice last year," He states. "You were the one that saved my life."

Every part of me is screaming to laugh it off and deny it, but I can't. Especially not in front of Dink and Sam. So I simply say, "Yes?"

"Why on Earth didn't you tell me?" He grabs both of my shoulders and gives me a slight shake.

I shrug a little and answer him. "You needed to remember on your own."

He looks at me as though I've grown a second head. "That's stupid!"

"Well you know now," I tell him.

"Almost a year later!" He practically shouts.

I widen my eyes in an unamused manner. "I'm sorry? What do you want from me?"

"I have always felt this debt towards some girl that I thought I never knew and it's been you and you never told me!" He exclaims

I nod. "Pretty much sums it up."

He looks bewildered. "Why not?"

"Because I didn't help you that day in the hopes that I would get something out of it. I helped you because it was what was right. I don't want someone in my debt or for you to feel like you are because in my eyes you aren't," I explain.

His voice has calmed down considerably and may even now be quieter than a traditional speaking tone. "I had these dreams about the girl that saved me and they scared me away. I have liked you for quite sometime, but those dreams made me feel like I couldn't have a girlfriend and they've been about you! It's seriously irritating."

Now it's my turn to be shocked. I stand there completely still and silent for a moment before Will has kissed me quickly. It was enough to set Dink and Sam into a practically hysterical celebration, that effectively cut the kiss short.

"Thank you for saving my life, Kayla," Will whispers.

"I'd do it again. Any time. Any place," I answer. I lean up to kiss him again.

If the pair of idiots are going to shout anyway then I'm at least going to enjoy my time.

**AN- This chapter I actually cut short. I was going to make it longer, but I wanted to update today. Maybe one day I'll come back to it and add the rest in because while drafting it in my head it was much longer.**

**This has not been edited. It is three in the morning. So deal with it.**

**Also what Kayla says that is italicized was something she ****said to Will when she saved him. So that's why it triggered his memory.**


	8. Chapter 8 Consolation

**AN- Thanks once more to LoveShipper! She's reviewed every single chapter and is an amazing person!:)**

**This one will be much shorter than others. It's the way things worked out. I already have three assignments and the first day of class isn't for several days.**

**Consolation**

Will had taken the lead in Fire and Ice for the first run. The tension was high between the Hot Doggers and Team Swift. There were some dirty looks being exchanged as well as nervous glances. Kayla was wringing her hands in anticipation. Will is about to take his final run and he does it beautifully. She screams and cheers with the boys and hugs Will tightly when he returns to his team.

They whole team stands in anticipation just waiting to watch the last run for the men's competition. It's Nick's run and he has to score quite well to beat Will. Once Nick begins his run the quartet falls into an intense hush. They're all standing a bundle of nerves just waiting for it to be over and to learn the winner.

When Nick receives his score from the judges the audience cheers and all of Team Swift start hollering. Will and his team stand a little numb before he breaks the silence. "That was pretty impressive. I've got some work to do."

"Hey. Not bad for taking a year off," Kayla grins at Will, nudging him in the side.

He grins back at her, "Just wait until you see me next year."

"You're gonna be great, but as of this year I'm pretty sure I've got a decent consolation prize for you," she tells him.

Will smiled at her compliment, but his face transformed into one of uncertainty when she mentioned a consolation prize. "What do you mean by that?"

"C'mere," She says softly and motions with her finger.

He gives her a slightly weary look, just waiting for the punch line. After the stunt she'd pulled with Sebastian earlier can you blame him for being slightly suspicious of the girl's behavior? Who knows what she was actually planning? When she just sits there expectantly he leans down to her level. "Is it some sort of secret?" He inquires.

"Not at all," She giggles. "Well it won't be at least…"

His confusion only grows. "What does that mean?" He asks her. When her only response is more laughter he continues. "Alright. Well are you going to tell me?" He asks even more baffled.

Kayla grins at him for a moment. She's becoming quite amused with his impatience and worry. "Maybe I'll just wait until after my run…" She teases.

"Now that isn't fair and you know it!" He exclaims as he straightens back up. "This is practically torture! Just tell me!"

She shrugs. "It may be, but you're just being impatient now."

Will frowns at her. "Of course I'm being impatient! You are not being very nice today!"

Her grin has grown in amusement and she laughs. "Fine, fine. Now come back here," Kayla commands. Once Will has come back down to her level she leans in and kisses him. When she pulls away her smile is more nervous, "Congratulations?" Her statement sounds more like a question in this case.

"That was my consolation prize?" He asks her.

She frowns at his seemingly negative response. "Well yeah…" Her voice trails off in insecurity.

"I'm sorry, but for some reason I feel like the real winner now," He laughs.

Kayla punches him in the shoulder. "Don't do that! You scared me," she scolds him.

"You started it!" He exclaims still laughing.

Kayla opens her mouth to protest, but realizes that he is actually right. "Well! Um… So!" She stutters out.

Will raises his eyebrows, it's his turn to be amused. "Nice comeback."

Kayla punches him in the shoulder again and sticks her tongue out childishly.

"Oh. I'm so scared," Will says in mock fear. He puts his hands up as though to surrender.

"You should be," she says attempting to sound threatening.

He makes a face before inquiring, "Shouldn't you be preparing for your first run? It should be coming up soon."

She sighs, almost not wanting to leave due to the fun she's having. "I suppose I should go and do that." She collects her board and goes to head back up to the top of the pipe.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asks her incredulously.

It's her turn to stare at him befuddled while he laughs. "Going to get ready for my run like you just mentioned…"

He laughs some more and says, "C'mere."

She rolls her eyes and walks back to him.

He leans in and kisses her quick. "Good luck. You're gonna do amazing."

She smiles and replies, "I'm feeling pretty lucky."

Kayla takes off to the top of the mountain before Will hears a chorus of, "Dude! Did that just happen?" Will just nods and grins. That was one heck of a consolation prize.

**AN- I tried to make this one as long as I could manage, but it just seemed like this was the length that fit it best. Originally it didn't have most of the beginning and I added that in. I could've lengthened it to the end of the competition, but it is entitled Consolation and Kayla has no need for a consolation prize.**

**I hope you all have a wonderful day.**


	9. Chapter 9 Pool

**AN- I had a few days where I was unable to write ahead of time and I am now posting chapters immediately after they are completed. This story may slow down some.**

**I have to be honest. I use plenty of foul language in my everyday life. Does anyone have an opinion on it in this story? The rating would go up to T if I were to begin to put any into the story.**

**Thanks to LoveShipper for reviewing!**

**Pool**

It had been a long day for Kayla and Will. Kayla had almost killed herself in an avalanche and Will had just about worried himself to death over it. By the time Kayla had convinced Will to come over for a swim and 'make sure she didn't drown' his inner turmoil had almost settled. He was coming and he would do just that. He was going to make sure that Kayla didn't drown.

It didn't keep him from never taking his eyes off of her though. He was definitely not going to be caught off guard this time. She had already scared him out of his wits once today and he was making absolutely sure that she was floating above water.

"You don't have to watch me like a hawk you know?" She laughs at him. Kayla had attempted to ignore his intense stares all night, but it was getting almost unbearable, even if it was almost flattering that he was worried about her so much. "I promise I'm not gonna slip under the water and drown. Only one near death experience per day thanks." Her smile is easy and genuine while she's with Will. Eve if he is blatantly staring at her all day long.

Will coughs and looks away from her in a way that was most definitely not obvious at all.

Kayla laughs again. "Smooth," She remarks at his completely non discreet way of averting his eyes.

He grins at her allowing himself to look back to her once more. "You said it earlier that I had to make sure you didn't drown. I thought that's why I was here." He makes a silly face at her to diffuse any tension there could have been.

"Absolutely," she rolls her eyes. "There's no way it's just because you're my friend and I enjoy your company."

Will makes a face of mock offense at her comment. "Of course not! We all know I'm simply a glorified life guard. I save damsels from all situations," he fights down a laugh and begins to gesticulate wildly. "Drowning, falling from heights, stuck in a tree," he lowers his voice and emphasizes the next words "even _avalanches_."

"It was one time!" Kayla retorts a little loud.

"It was today!" Will responds and matches her volume.

Kayla answers back much calmer, but still with a large teasing smile, "Touché…"

Will shakes his head at her goofy, free spirited personality. "There's no way to fight that point. It was today. In fact no more than twelve hours ago!" He exclaims. "This is why you need the life guard. The last time there was an endangerment of your life was within twenty-four hours! You could die and that's just no good Kayla!"

The pair are chuckling again and have drifted closer together in the pool. "So Mr. Rescue Guy… Do you have any idea what you should do when someone is drowning?" Kayla asks slyly. Maybe, just maybe he will take the hint.

"Well, you should perform CPR and mouth to mouth on them," he answers her, not quite picking up on her tone and what she's really hoping for.

The couple have floated even closer to each other and are now within touching distance. "Oh really?" Kayla asks lightly.

"Mm hmm," Will murmurs.

Both of them are only inches away from the other, staring into each other's eyes with an intensity neither of them had seen from the other person before. "Will?" Kayla asks without breaking eye contact.

Will answers back promptly, almost as though he was in a trance, "Yeah?"

"I think I might be drowning," She states ridiculously.

He blinks at her as she is clearly not drowning, nor anywhere close to drowning before he realizes what she actually means. "Well we can't have that now can we?" His question is left hanging in the air between them, but it was meant to be rhetorical anyway.

The pair couldn't tell you who initiates their first kiss or even their second or third, but they could tell you that the feeling is like nothing they imagined. Not the fireworks Kayla has always pictured in her mind from when she was a little girl or the burning sensation Will's mom always mentions. The couple only senses a feeling of total completeness. As if the pair of them are never truly whole before they have that moment. The duo are feeling pure bliss until the minute they break away with foggy minds.

They were breathing heavy when Kayla's mom brought them towels and when asked Kayla laughs her questions off and tells her that they were racing laps for training for Fire and Ice. Their hearts are certainly beating fast enough for their bodies to confirm Kayla's small fib. Kayla feels like she ran an entire marathon today and supposes that she had, had a pretty productive day.

When Kayla bids Will goodbye for the night she knows that she is the one to lean in for that kiss and it feels just as magical as all the others had. She has infinite hopes for the next morning when she sees him because he really does complete her. She's sure now that Will and her won't be some fluke or fling. Her and Will are going to go the distance as long as she has something to say about it.

**AN- This chapter isn't too long or edited. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Review.**


	10. Chapter 10 Fire

**AN- Ten chapters wow…**

**Tomorrow is the day of my move in to university… I have no chapters written in advance because I was so busy this past week. I hope I manage an update for y'all…**

**Also I'm legitimately running out of new ideas and even though I still have over a dozen to write it makes me nervous not to have options.**

**Fire**

The icy snowboarding competition brought in most of the attraction at the resort, but they didn't call it Fire and Ice for no reason. The boarders had another six months to train themselves for the other half of the competition.

It was a simple swimming competition, but a lot of boarders struggled with it. This was a blanket statement for almost the entire Hot Doggers team. Swimming was not their strong suit and from what they heard, Team Swift had been working hard on their techniques and were surely going to put up a strong fight for the win.

"Now why do we have to do this again?" Sam complained loudly. He was not a fan of swimming at all and typically ignored this portion of the competition completely, much less participated in it. He didn't want to be here at all.

Dink's groan showed his distaste as well as the pair stood outside of the pool. "Seriously. This is not cool man."

Will rolls his eyes from within the pool. "Because we're doing this right guys. Especially now that we actually qualify for team titles since Kayla joined us. You've got to be willing to try."

"Yeah! Don't be such wimps!" Kayla is heard shouting from the changing room.

Dink raises an eyebrow at her comment. "if we're the ones being wimps then why are we the ones actually ready to get this over with!" He huffs at her.

"It takes a little more time for me to get ready," Kayla remarks casually as she bumps the door open with her hip and steps out. Both of her hands are over to one side braiding her hair to keep it out of the way. For casual fun swimming she would have left it down, but when she's training she needs to have some semblance of control over the mop on her head. "I've got this thing called hair and it tends to get in the way when you do things like swim competitively."

Her hands move swiftly to the end of her hair and she wraps a hair band around it to secure the braid. She tosses it behind her and looks up to the boys all gawking. "How do you do that?" Will asks.

"Do what?" She repeats the question mildly confused.

Sam speaks this time, "Your hair. Your hands moved so quick it was almost like magic."

She gives them disbelieving looks. "That?" She pulls at the braid unconsciously for a moment. "It's easy. I guess I just have a lot of practice, but it's not hard at all. I could teach you, but I'm not sure why you'd want to learn." She shrugs at the end of her spiel and the boys fall out of their trance.

"Girl stuff is weird," Dink concludes before his shoved into the water. "Why?" He yells once he's above water again. He's sputtering and rubbing his eyes.

Kayla laughs. "I figured it was the easiest way to get you in the water!"

"Now you have to get in so we can practice," Will tells her.

She grins and takes a short running start before cannonballing into the warm pool. "Done," Her smile just as large as previously even while wiping the water from her eyes.

"Alright. Let's get to it."

* * *

Practicing for three hours in Kayla's heated pool everyday wasn't the worst part of everyone's day. Especially because they had lengthened the practices to three hours because they were goofing off too much and needed the extra time. For two of the members of Hot Doggers it was their favorite part. Sam and Dink enjoyed their time, but not nearly as much as Will and Kayla.

The pair were always the last to leave though Kayla never really did because it was her home, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by Will's best friends that Will was there alone with Kayla everyday for at least five minutes. They had yet to figure out when Will was actually leaving Kayla's house.

After somehow getting sidetracked for weeks and never actually learning what was happening between the other half of their team the competition was upon them.

Fire and Ice's swimming competition was much more casual than other swim meets. The main focus was on the Ice portion after all so essentially the Fire element was brought in to make the snowboarders a little uncomfortable and get a good laugh. Though the more competitive teams really did try to win. This year everyone's top two were Team Swift and Hot Doggers. Support for both groups had brought in a much bigger audience than the event had gained in many years.

Just walking through the door you could see there were even some fangirls and boys there. Kayla had been dragged off by seven different boys by the end of the first hour and had been proposed to twice in the first three hours.

Dink and Sam were incredibly amused by the attention she was receiving. Mostly because Will's reaction was bordering on rage, but he was clearly trying to suppress his feelings and doing a poor job of it. It didn't help that Kayla blooms under praise and even though she left the marriage proposals with an embarrassed blush on her face, Will was still pretty jealous.

Kayla had also noticed Will's reactions all day. The races weren't starting for another three hours, but check in and coach's meetings had been taking place throughout the whole day. She grabbed Will by the wrist and excused them from the group.

Needless to say he was confused, but went along with only a befuddled, "What's happening?"

She doesn't answer him and pulls him down a hallway and around a corner to an empty corridor. "Look. I'm not stupid and I'm kind of offended that you expect me to believe this façade you've been putting up all day."

He stands there shocked at her accusation before answering her, "I don't think you're stupid at all."

"Then why on Earth have you been letting those guys hang all over me today?" She asks angrily before going on to rant, "I know that you like me. Even if I couldn't be sure before, and believe that I had a pretty strong suspicion, but today just confirmed it because you haven't genuinely smiled once. You've glared at every guy that's even glanced at me and I'm surprised that you haven't drowned the two boys that proposed to me. So stop questioning my intelligence by acting as though I can't notice it."

She lets out a deep breath at her confession and Will can't help, but stare. "How long did you know? I was pretty sure today that you would figure it out, but before I honestly thought I had everyone fooled…" He trails off a little embarrassed.

She sighs at the boy she's had a crush on for months. "I've known since before the Cloud 9. I've just been waiting. I don't know why I've been waiting, but I have."

Will's head is reeling. The Cloud 9 was over half a year ago and she had been waiting. Waiting for him to get his act together, but he never thought she'd ever reciprocate his feelings so he tried to hide them. Unsuccessfully, but he really had tried. "I'm sorry," he apologizes honestly.

"Is that it?" Kayla asks bluntly.

Will is feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that is happening and so when Kayla gets tired of waiting for an answer he doesn't protest. After all the kiss they share was something he doesn't regret. It was probably the best part of his day. Though beating Nick wasn't half bad either.

**AN- I hope this wasn't too bad.**

**As always I hope you enjoyed and this wasn't edited.**


	11. Chapter 11 Jealous

**AN- Alright. First night in the new dorm… Not too bad. I hope my roommate doesn't think I'm crazy.**

**Zach and Jake are my OCs. Also Kayla's cousin that is mentioned. So there. MINE.**

**Jealous**

He didn't want to admit it at all. He was being unreasonable and unrealistic. He had no rights to what she did or who she spoke to. No matter how often he thought about the possibility of becoming more of a permanent fixture in her life with a stronger opinion. He still hadn't done anything about it and it was all his fault. This jealousy is completely his fault and nothing was going to change that fact.

She hadn't done anything to solve the problem that she was very much aware of. She could have made it easier on him and told him that he was pretty safe to make his move, but she didn't. She thought both his insecurity and mild jealousy were adorable and was wondering how long he would allow it to go on for. She wasn't even that much of a flirty person, but when it came to instilling this reaction in Will she could go a little more out of her way. After all it was kind of fun for her and it was harmless overall.

Kayla wasn't the only one that was amused with Will's reactions to her flirtatious behavior. His two best friends had both told him time and time again to make his move. Will had never took their well informed advice and now he was suffering through Kayla's little bit of revenge. Sam and Dink both had placed bets on when Will would finally snap over Kayla's mind games. Sam was sure that it would be at least another two weeks, but Dink was confident that Kayla could get him to break before that. The pair had twenty dollars on the table, but it was mostly for fun.

Kayla's latest episode was going down currently. She didn't actually know that Will was there yet, but her relationship with Zach had always been a touch more than friendly. They had known each other for many years and knew that dating was not in their cards. Zach had actually been dating one of her cousins for the past few years and she was extremely comfortable with the friendship between Kayla and Zach. As the pair laughed loudly at an old story Zach wrapped an arm over Kayla's shoulder to guide her to her next class.

Will had walked up behind Zach and Kayla's loud laughter and watched them together for a minute. It sparked a heat in his chest that was becoming much too familiar as of late. He wasn't proud of his jealousy, but it was his reality for the time being. When Zach put his arm around Kayla's shoulders Will took a deep calming breath. He really needed to learn to get used to this or finally take a chance. It was funny how he would rather risk his life on a snowboard everyday than even think about asking this wonderful girl out. He was sure that they had at least some chemistry. He had almost kissed her in her pool before Fire and Ice, but her mom had came in and interrupted his moment of bravery. For some reason he had never seemed to be able to gather the courage to try again. Courage was the perfect way to describe it because Will was absolutely being a coward, and that he wasn't proud of.

Dink and Sam had sworn that they would have no part in swaying Will's choice either way, but Dink didn't promise that he wouldn't ask Kayla to step it up for him. When he spoke to her about it she took it on as a challenge. This was going to be one crazy week for Will Cloud because Kayla was going to be pulling out all the tricks for one last final shot.

Kayla wasn't sure if this would work, but Zach had agreed to help her for her last attempt at getting Will to make his move. Zach had brought up an excellent point of why she couldn't make the first move, but Kayla had already accepted the challenge from Dink and she wasn't going to back down. She was pretty confident that this performance by her and Zach would shove Will over the proverbial edge and he would finally just act on his feelings for her. It wasn't like Sam and Dink hadn't already told her that he was incredibly into her. She had no doubts in her mind about that. The simple problem was getting Will to choose to admit his fondness for her.

Will had been feeling on edge all day at school. He felt like he was buzzing all over as if he had ten cups of coffee, but he hadn't had a single sip of the beverage. He didn't know what to think about his nerves. They were all over the place and he was very nearly close to calling home from the oddness of it all. Something was holding him back from walking down to the office to call his mom for a ride home though. He wasn't sure how he knew that today was going to be special, but his body could sense it as though the air was charged with a warning of what was to come for him later.

Kayla was nervous about the stunt she was pulling today, but it was time to really try hard to get Will to realize that he needed to make a move. She wasn't going to be young forever and though she would wait for him to an extent she'd rather not have to wait honestly. It was ten minutes until the bell and then the plan would begin.

At lunch Kayla was standing in the direct view of Will with Lindsey and Pia. Her back was facing Zach's older cousin Jake whom she hadn't seen in almost a year. He had gone to college and they hadn't had time to catch up. Zach and Kayla figured that this killed two birds with one stone and Jake was up for a little mischief ninety percent of the time.

Jake shouts to Kayla across the cafeteria. She spins on her heel and with a short running start jumps into his outstretched arms. He spins her around a few times and they both laugh loudly in complete joy at seeing each other again. They're being stared at, but they ignore it. It doesn't matter how many eyes are on them as long as Will's are. They begin talking when Jake puts Kayla back down on the ground. Both of them proclaiming how much they missed each other over the year and general chitchat. Jake grabs Kayla's hand and they walk back to her friends to hang out for the rest of the lunch period.

Will is extremely frustrated about lunch. Kayla seems to have an endless supply of guys that are all over her and it isn't making his life any easier. When he's waiting for her at the mountain he begins to psych himself up for trying to finally tell her everything. Maybe her can finally do it. When she's finally in his view he loses his breath at how flawless she looks, but stands as firm as possible. He can't let it intimidate him. He's going to get through this. She waves at him and he raises a hand back in a half hearted attempt to respond. Once she reaches him Will simply leans down and presses their lips together.

If they listened close enough the pair could've heard Dink's cheers and Sam's sigh of disappointment before admitting that he was glad it was finally over.

**AN- Another chapter down… I can't believe I'm keeping up with this…**


	12. Chapter 12 Survive

**AN- Welcome to chapter twelve.**

**Thanks to LoveShipper for her lovely reviews. She reviews every time and I appreciate it a lot.**

**Survive**

I feel exhilarated. It is such a rush to race down the face of Tyson's Peak on my board on this lovely day. I am the first person to ever do it and if I can outrun this avalanche then I can live to tell the tale. My adrenaline is racing and I am pushing through as hard as I can. I need to make it out of this. I have too much life left to live because after all I am only in high school.

Boarding down the mountain may not have been the wisest idea of mine, but I am starting to feel like I'm pulling away from the mounds of snow that are barreling towards me. I lean lower to the ground to increase my speed more because I really want to beat this. My speed gives me even more distance and I can see a snow mobile coming towards us.

I wave my arms to the best of my ability telling the rider to turn around. I don't want them to die because of me. When they turn the vehicle around, but don't leave I pray that they will save them-self before they let the barrage of falling snow kill them. I feel like the roar of the sliding snow quiets and I pass the snow mobile. It's silent as quickly as the emergency had began and I stop my board swiftly. I immediately release my feet and turn around to check on the snowmobiler.

When I see both vehicle and operator unscathed I release a deep breath. "Are you alright?" I call out to them. I pull my goggles off of my face and stand in my spot for a moment.

They get off of the snowmobile and I notice Donald is with them before their helmet is being removed to reveal Will. "Am I alright?" He shouts back incredulously. "Am I alright?" He repeats himself for emphasis sounding almost in disbelief.

"I was just being nice…" I say loudly enough for him to hear from our distance. Donald is running over to me and I welcome the pooch to me with open arms. "Hey buddy!"

Will is stomping his way through the snow towards me and Donald. "Are you okay?" He asks me with a twinge of concern in his voice. He's calmed down significantly from those moments ago.

"I'm absolutely fine Will. I was barely touched by even a single flake," I tell him with a bit of exaggeration.

He looks me over once as though to confirm I was telling him the truth. "Alright," He speaks as though that's the end of the conversation. Then he reaches out and smacks me in the arm.

"Um. What was that for?" I ask him truthfully wondering. He didn't hit me to cause pain because I could've been lying in the snow in agony if that was his goal.

"If you ever do anything that stupid again I will hurt you. You could've died Kayla!" He exclaims.

"I'm sorry?" My reply comes out more like a question.

He gives me a half hearted glare. "I'm serious Kayla. That was incredibly dangerous and stupid and irresponsible. It's not okay," He scolds gently.

"Yes sir," I mock salute him and he grimaces. I give him a laugh and then say, "I promise not to die or severely injury myself doing something that could be deemed stupid by others around me."

Will raises an eyebrow at me and responds, "It doesn't really work like that."

I shake my head. "Sure it does."

He rolls his eyes before looking at me softly. "Please don't ever do anything that crazy ever again. I don't think I could handle it."

"Hmm?" I hum quietly in confusion.

"I can't afford to lose you Kayla. It's only been a few weeks of knowing each other and I already feel attached to you. I don't know why or how we got so close so fast, but losing you isn't an option anymore. You don't understand how much you mean to me already. Just trust me when I say it's a lot," He explains gently and slowly.

I'm almost in shock of his beautiful words. The way he's describing it all makes me feel phenomenal and I decide to push my luck. "Well how much do I mean to you? What's the difference between now and a few weeks ago?" These are genuine questions, but I'm hoping that Will's answers are leaning towards the option of us becoming more than what we are now. I really do like Will and it did come on fast like what he described to me.

"Well it would be pretty easy for me to show you what I mean instead of tell you," He suggests. "I'm having a little trouble with the words right now."

I nod in response to his question. "Sure. Actions do speak louder than words so if you feel like showing me will have more of an impact then go for it!" I encourage him.

He nods quick and then he takes a step towards me and we're pressed together. He places his lips to mine and I'm content with the world. I have been hoping for something like this for a few days now and I'm really glad that I managed to beat the avalanche today.

I have a feeling that my life would be a lot different. Even had I survived another way. I had beaten Mother Nature and that made me feel unbreakable.

Our kiss really could have only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for me. I was ecstatic about this development and made a silly remark, "Maybe I should almost die more often." I suggest to Will with a shrug.

He shakes his head at me and in a stern voice answers. "Please no."

**AN- Another day another chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13 After

**AN- Chapter 13!**

**I start classes tomorrow morning so I'm super nervous, but I have faith everything will go well.**

**After**

We have just won Fire and Ice and the after party is just about kicking up. We're later than most guests because we had to change out of our gear and in my case fix myself up to look much better than the sweaty mess I was after the competition. I hadn't wanted to take too much time so I just straightened my hair after a shower and applied my make up quickly with great skill. I had slipped into the blue shimmery loose dress I was wearing and dashed out the door to meet the boys here.

Will and I hadn't seen each other except for a few moments across the room. He was being bombarded by a big crowd. Most of which were girls that seemed to realize that Will wasn't a weird guy that could've been something, but was actually an amazing person that deserved everything in the whole world. It bothered me slightly that they wanted him now because of his success at Fire and Ice, but I refused to let it get to me. Will wasn't stupid and he had to have realized that, that was what was happening.

I tried to focus on having a good time myself. I was dancing with Sam for a fun dance song, but even the infectious beat couldn't distract me from the topic for very long. I was worrying way too much about Will. He can take care of himself.

As though he could sense where my thoughts had drifted from across the room Will brushed the girls off and set out towards me. He tapped Sam on the shoulder and shooed him away from me. Sam gave him a thumbs up and danced away. "It seems like we haven't talked all night!" Will shouts over the music.

I shout back, "We haven't! Not since we won to be accurate!" I agree with him.

He agrees with me with a nod. "True. Are you alright?" He asks concerned.

"I'm fine," I tell him with a fake smile and a nod.

He shakes his head at me, but takes one of my hands and drags me towards the balcony. "Honesty time. What's wrong?"

I sigh when he pushes me. I don't want to have to talk to him about it because he'll think that it is stupid of me. "I don't want to talk about it Will. That's honest."

"That answer is irrelevant so there's that. Let's try that again. What's wrong Kayla?" He asks me again.

I drop my shoulders in resignation. I suppose I should just tell him and get it over with. He won't leave it be if I don't anyway. "I was just being dumb and worrying about you falling for those girls and their tricks. I didn't want you to forget that they were all rude to you when it was your hardest time and were only wanting to be around you for the fame."

Will gives me a soft smile. "I appreciate your concern and I would never let that happen. Besides I kind of have a girl I that I have my eye on." His look is one of absolute bliss.

My heart breaks at his statement, but I'm sure I hid it well. "Oh? Who?" I ask curious about the girl that has made Will so lovestruck.

"You know? I never really liked these, but maybe things will be different this time," Will changes the subject.

I give him a perplexed look. "So she's here?" I wonder why that's the statement he chose to respond with to my question.

He nods. "I hang out with her a lot actually, but she's kind of oblivious and we definitely have our differences."

My mind is reeling and I'm fumbling through my memories of Will trying to find a girl that I see him with regularly. I realize quickly that I can't think of one and I ask, "She sounds a little dumb, but who is she?"

Will bursts into laughter. It's loud and carefree. "Kayla Morgan you have made my day," He speaks between laughs.

"How so?" I ask him confused again.

"What girl am I always spending time with?" He asks me seriously after he's calmed down. The grin on his face stretches to both of his ears in amused joy.

I shrug at him. "I can't think of one."

His smile disappears and is replaced with a look that is absolutely unamused with my apparent ignorance. "Not a single one? At all?"

"Well… No," I tell him once more wondering why he keeps asking me a question I clearly don't have the answer to.

He shakes his head at me. "Kayla Morgan you are an absolute idiot sometimes," He takes my face in his hands and brings our lips together.

My eyes pop open in shock, but slip shut soon after. I wasn't even considering myself as the girl Will was speaking of. It was apparently something I should've done.

When he pulls away I open my eyes back up and I am met with the biggest smile I think Will has ever had. It rivals even the smile that was on his face earlier when he was laughing so hard he was almost in tears. "So do you understand now?"

"Yeah," I shrug. "Do you like these parties more?" I ask him both curious and joking.

He nods. "This one has turned out much better for me than any of the others," He smiles at me again, "So do you want to go dance?" He holds out a hand for me and I immediately reach out and take it.

"I would like nothing more," I grin and he pulls me back inside to the dance floor.

**AN- This one is decent I guess. Thirteen's my favorite number I just have no time to make this special.**


	14. Chapter 14 Court

**AN- Chapter 14 is finally here! **

**My first day of classes wasn't too horrible…**

**I couldn't think of the name of their high school so I avoided using it. Whoops.**

**Thanks to LoveShipper (as always!) and ellie111lee for their reviews!**

**Court**

It was the beginning of Senior year for the Hot Doggers and winning at Fire and Ice last year had brought the team into the spotlight at school. Kayla had already had experience as a popular girl, but the guys were having a little trouble adjusting to the not so subtle stares from underclassmen girls.

"It's making me uncomfortable," Sam admits to Kayla as they walk down to lunch.

She laughs at the complete honesty on his face. "Sam it's fine. Just ignore them because they won't go away."

"Are you serious dude?" Dink asks him looking offended. "This is great! I'm definitely going to get a date for Homecoming this year!"

"Is that really your main concern?" Kayla scoffs at Dink's reasoning.

Dink shrugs. "Well it'll be nice to not get turned down by every girl in the school for once. What about you Will? How are you doing with all of this?"

Will shrugs as well. "I'm mostly just ignoring it. I'm not too concerned with it all. They might stare at me, but they don't really know me or care about me. I definitely don't want a girl that just wants me for the attention. It would be a waste of time."

"Preach!" Sam pitches in to agree with Will's statement. He was most definitely looking for a girl that actually cared for _him _and not the guy that won Fire and Ice.

"That's good sense Will," Kayla compliments. She misses the nudges from Sam and Dink to Will.

The quartet have entered the cafeteria and head through the line to receive their meals. Once they've completed that task they head to a table and sit down. There are a few minutes of peaceful small talk before the PA system dings alerting the students to an announcement. The speaker crackles a moment and then the sound of the peppy head cheerleader comes on overhead. "Hello everyone! It is now time to announce our 2015 Homecoming Court!" The girl babbles out the names of the underclassmen candidates and small shrieks of delight are heard around the room. Once she moves on to seniors the room falls to a hush, but Kayla, unconcerned, pays more attention to her salad than the voice from above.

Homecoming didn't seem like something that was her thing. Every year five cheerleaders were on court and the most popular of the bunch was named Queen and Kayla simply didn't care enough to tune into the broadcast. Odds are the girl that was speaking was the Queen anyway.

There are loud celebrations after each name is called except for the last. When the last girl's name is called there are only two sole shrieks from two tables over as the entire school is in amazement at what has happened. The clicking of heels on tile can be heard and Linds and Pia are behind Kayla hugging her tightly. "What?" She asks them oblivious to her candidacy.

"You weren't listening?" Pia blurts angrily at one of her best friends.

Kayla answers, "No. It's always cheerleaders. Why would I bother?"

"Because you've been nominated for Homecoming Queen!" Pia replies excited.

Kayla's face transforms to one of shock. She's so absorbed in her own thoughts as the male nominees are announced that she doesn't notice Sam's celebration at the sound of his name from the speaker. Dink fist bumps him and Will gives him a side hug in a small celebration of his achievement while the next boy is recognized.

The school falls silent for the announcement of the final name and the cheerleader says with finality, "and lastly, the final nominee for Homecoming King, William Cloud."

Dink and Sam jump from their seats and shout for joy. The football team is chanting and there is uproar in the cafeteria. "What?" is the first thing to fall from Will's lips at the announcement.

Sam throws an arm around him. "Congratulations man!"

"This is insane," Will mumbles as the buzz from the room settles. The cheerleader has long since finished talking about what the members of Homecoming Court were required to do and most tables had returned to old conversation. Pia and Lindsey have returned to their lunches as well.

The Hot Doggers were simply amazed at the fact that three of them had made it onto court at all. "I'm so proud of you guys!" Dink exclaims. "My three best friends are royalty!"

"What I don't get is why I'm on court and you aren't dude. You have way more friends then me. You are far more outgoing!" Sam reasons.

Dink shakes his head, "You've gotten much better and girls can really dig the kinda shy thing, but that's just what I would think."

A cheerleader approaches the table due to the baffled expression gracing the faces of three of their court members. "It was a really close vote this year. I think that Dink only lost by maybe ten votes," She explains to them.

The foursome nod to her and she returns to her table.

* * *

The dance was a big stressor for all four boarders, but they had varying reasons. Sam was afraid of hurting the cheerleader he had to dance with, Dink was nervous about finding a date to the dance, and Will and Kayla were nervous about each other.

At first when they discovered when they'd been paired up they were excited and slowly they realized what that entailed.

They had to slow dance together and that was something that had both of them in a tizzy.

Just an hour before the dance Pia and Lindsey were giving Kayla the same lecture Will was receiving from Dink and Sam.

"It's going to be fine. After all you guys are best friends. There's no way you'll let anything get between you."

Once the dance was in full swing it was time for the Royalty to be crowned and it made the butterflies in Kayla and Will's stomachs flutter harshly. The pair had avoided each other all night, but now they would finally have to see each other.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your Homecoming King is William Cloud!" The DJ announces with endless energy and places the large crown upon Will's head. "And joining him for a special dance will be his Homecoming Queen… Miss Kayla Morgan!"

The cheering was deafening, but the shock on Kayla's face was all Will could even begin to focus on. He wasn't sure how she couldn't see it, but he'd known she would win since she had been nominated for court. She needed a little nudge before she finally approached him and her crown was placed on top of her head.

"Whoa," Kayla says breathless. Making it on court had seemed like an unreal idea to her so winning Queen was like an alternate reality.

Will smirks. "You deserve it."

"Not more than you," She remarks.

The slow song they are supposed to dance to begins to play, Kayla takes Will's proffered hand, and they begin to dance. The pair are feeling a strong intensity between them, but they moved closer.

Will smiles at Kayla and whispers, "You look gorgeous by the way."

She blushes at the kind words and responds in kind. "You look handsome as well."

Before they can register what they're doing they move even closer and are kissing in front of everyone. They don't register the whoops and hollers from their peers because all that matters to them is right in their arms.

**AN- A much better chapter in my opinion. I really like this one. If I didn't have to sleep I would've written it slightly different.**


	15. Chapter 15 Injured

**AN- Chapter 15. Wow… It's so weird…**

**Seriously though guys! Make requests and be as creative as possible! Every little bit helps and if I tell you I already had that idea don't be offended! I just want you to know that so if you want something that is your idea and yours alone you can have it!**

**Injured**

When I planned this whole thing out there was something that I never really considered and now sitting here in my hospital bed I was regretting some of my choices. Definitely the more reckless ones.

*****FLASHBACK*****

I am going to convince him I'm sure of it. Will has been stubborn about the idea of me attempting the Cloud 9. Even after I went racing down Tyson's peak he was skeptical about teaching me. I am giving it one last effort to earn his trust and get him to teach me. He had already told me the components of the move about a week ago. I really just needed his guidance and maybe a few examples.

"You ready for practice?" Will asks me with a grin as he approaches me on the pipe.

I nod. "I'm ready for anything," I tell him with intensity to show how serious I am about it all.

He acts as if I'd said any normal statement and nods as well. "Alright. Then lets get started!" He claps his hands together and tells me what he'd like me to do on my first run through.

I perform it flawlessly and I'm sure that it's one of the most important runs I've ever had. If my skill doesn't impress him this time then I know he will never believe that I am ready. "How was that?" I ask him while removing my goggles. I have an answer in mind and if he said it was anything less than amazing heads were going to roll. Namely his head for attempting to downplay my success.

"That was magnificent Kayla!" Will exclaims once I'm in front of him. "It's the best run I've seen you have all month! I think you might be ready to move on to something a little harder."

I give him a curious look simply because I don't have the courage to ask him what I really want to know.

He just nods at me and grins. "You're going to want to watch this next trick. It is the first part on the way to mastering the Cloud 9."

I clap my hands a few times and let out an excited squeal. I throw my arms around his shoulders in thanks. "Thank you!"

He pats my back for a moment with a laugh, "You have to let me go so I can show you the first part of the trick," He warns me.

I immediately pull away from and mock salute him with a light hearted, "Yes sir!"

Will rolls his eyes at me and begins to strap his board to his feet. The more time that passes the more keyed up I become, but soon Will is standing on the edge of the pipe and falling in to perform an impressive trick.

I follow him down and copy him to a T. I don't know how I've been so lucky today, but my jumps have all been on point and I can't wait to get to try the entire Cloud 9.

Will moves me through the motions on the trick quickly as I speed through the steps with amazing accuracy. "I'm ready," I state plainly to Will after another excellent run. "I want to try it."

"Are you sure?" Will asks cautiously. I know he has a bit of a fear regarding the trick and I nod once more enthusiastically.

"I'm positive," I tell him my previous intensity returning.

He nods his head a small bit. "Alright. Then you better go for it."

"I better," I reply before I push my goggles down and slide into the pipe.

*****PRESENT*****

I suppose it's needless to say that my lucky streak had apparently run out and the Cloud 9 had taken it's next victim. I was in no way injured as badly as Will had been and I was a little fuzzy, but from what I understood I got out of the crash with some bad bruising and a concussion. I was going to be released from the hospital soon. My test results just had to come back clean and I would be free to go and cleared to ride in three days minimum to let my head get a break from the trauma.

I sat in the bed and guessed I should have been a little more suspicious of the too good to be true luck I was having. It lasted me until just when I really needed it and I wish it would've stuck around for about another ten seconds just to make sure I would've hit everything safely.

"How are you?" Will asks me with his head peaked in the curtain.

I gesture for him to come in and I speak softly. Loud noises, including my own, hurt my head viciously. "I'm fine. I get to ride in three days, provided I feel up to it." I smile at the news. I have about a weak to recover before Fire and Ice. I hope I'll be able to get everything under control by then.

"Are you insane Kayla? That soon?" He asks concerned. He's lowered his voice and is now sitting in the chair next to my bed.

I shrug and give him a 'What can you do?' type look. Even talking is painful and avoiding it makes my life much simpler.

"You could've been injured much worse! Or killed!" He whisper shouts.

I smirk, "But I wasn't."

"I hate you sometimes…" He grumbles.

I shake my head with a huge smile on my face at his lie.

He sighs. "You really did scare me though. Please don't ever do that again."

I wiggle my eyebrows and don't agree to anything.

"I don't know what I would've done if anything worse had happened…" Will mumbles and looks down.

I grab under his chin and shake my head at him. "No worries," I push out.

He looks me in the eye and I stare back at him. When neither of us avert our gazes we begin to drift towards each other and our lips meet in a short kiss.

"Never scare me like that again," Will whispers.

I smirk slightly, "No promises."

**AN- Headcanon that the Cloud 9 later that week that Kayla actually achieves scares the absolute crap out of Will and he about has a panic attack.**


	16. Chapter 16 Written

**AN- My wifi wouldn't work last night and wouldn't allow me to post. Sorry guys. I'll try and make this one extra special.**

**Thanks to LoveShipper for reviewing.**

**This story is based off of a concept that was very popular in the Glee fandom when I spent my time there. I've seen it elsewhere, but never as often. I also added my little twist to it. There will be an explanation of it at the end.**

**So it's an AU. Pretty big one too. There will be altering POV and it will not be labeled. It will be fairly obvious who it is though. I promise.**

**Written**

Being one of the youngest students in the senior class I still hadn't learned who I would be with forever. As birthdays passed I would see girls excitedly tell their friends and guys casually stop flirting with the underclassmen. They had learned the name of their soulmate and knew the name of the one they would spend their life with. By far one of the most dramatic days at school had been due to a pair of soulmates were discovered within the student body. Just several months ago, at the end of last year, a boy had approached Lindsey at lunch with her name written on his thumb in her swirling signature. It had been the first time she'd spoken in almost a year. Her soulmate Jeremy was four months older than her, but only discovered her existence within the school days before.

They were an incredibly cute couple now and I was so happy for her, but that didn't stop me from being jealous that I wouldn't turn seventeen for another month and everybody was falling into their relationships or learning about their one and only as much as they could. Pia had turned seventeen in June and the boy she was destined to be with had worked at a summer camp she dropped her sister off at. They had met for a moment and were inseparable on the weekends.

To be honest I just felt very lonely and this had caused me to throw myself into my school and snowboarding. I had met a couple of guys named Dink and Sam that were allowing me to practice with them and they'd helped me out quite a bit. I'd improved definitely and they treated me like they'd treat anyone else. I honestly don't think that they even realized that I was a so called 'popular girl' at their school and I was pretty glad for it.

I show up at the pipe and wait in the normal waiting spot before my phone chirps in my pocket. I pull it out and check the message. It has the simple statement of 'Watch this!' on the screen and I turn to face the pipe and see a boarder flying through the air. I don't know who it is because I can see Dink and Sam standing and shouting at the top of the pipe. I watch the boarder out of the corner of my eye and start to make my way towards them.

Once I get to the bottom of the pipe the boarder has completed their run and they practically hit me as the skid to a stop. "Whoa. Sorry," a male's voice apologizes at the near collision.

"It's fine. You just nearly gave me a heart attack is all," I laugh it off. I wave a bit and head towards Sam and Dink. Once I've reached them I ask, "Who was that and why did you want me to watch him?"

Dink explains, "That's our friend Will. He's pretty good. He had an accident last year and we've just now convinced him to join our team for Fire and Ice!" His voice is tinged with excitement and the broad grin across Sam's face shows his enthusiasm as well.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" I exclaim and I wrap them both up in a hug. "That's amazing!"

When I pull away Sam is still smiling, but he's giving me a slightly confused look. "You aren't gonna join?"

"Huh?" I ask him. "I didn't know I was invited." I give them both a shrug.

Dink's face drops into one that is clearly not amused. "Kayla, are you real? Why on Earth would we practice with you for weeks and then not want you on the team?"

I shrug again. "I don't know…"

"You're ridiculous," Sam laughs at me. He looks at something over my shoulder and gives a shout. "Hey Will! This is her!"

I spin around to see the boy that almost crashed into me before. "We met sort of already actually," I tell the guys. "He kind of almost bowled me over a minute ago."

Will removes his goggles and gives a bit of a sheepish grin. "I really am sorry about that."

"It's cool," I wave him off again. I'm not concerned at all.

Dink walks next to me and gestures to me while he says, "Will this is Kayla and she's the girl that we've been telling you about."

The look on Will's face could be compared to someone being given a small electric shock. His eyes are huge and almost worried. "Oh," He mutters after a second. He continues with a much more normal, "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," I grin at him.

* * *

"What is wrong with you two?" I exclaim at the boys I call my best friends. "You can't just throw every girl named Kayla at me!"

Dink gives me a slightly irritated look. "We're sure that she's the one. We've been hanging out with her for a few months now and she's only sixteen. It would explain why you only have half a signature as of now. Your soulmate isn't seventeen yet… And neither is Kayla."

"All her friends have found their soulmates and she's lonely. That's actually how we found her. We didn't go looking for Kaylas for you. She kind of just fell into our lives and now that you've decided to join the team, which by the way there is no backing out now, she's part of your life too," Sam tells me.

I know these two mean well, but I can't help and feel a little betrayed. I never should've shared I only have half a name on my shoulder blade to them. It's been over six months and I will admit it's kind of a bummer not to know, but time will tell. I sigh before replying, "There will be no antics and attempting to get us together. You will let Kayla and I have a normal friendship because odds are that is all there will ever be. When she has her birthday everything will be normal and then I don't have to worry about her thinking I'm crazy because of you two."

They look at each other and nod. "Deal," Dink confirms.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

"We should have some sort of team bonding thing," I blurt awkwardly at practice. I don't know what possessed me, but I continue my statement. "I don't feel like I know you guys at all and that's just weird."

Dink and Sam look over at Will and shrug. His stare is suspicious of them and I'm completely lost. "Guys?" I ask tentatively.

Sam shrugs at me, "Sounds good to me."

Dink nods and looks back over to Will. He nods too, but it seems a bit reluctant.

"How does in like an hour at my house sound? I have a pool and stuff," I offer. A dip in the pool sounds amazing after this long practice.

Dink jumps at the chance, "That sounds great."

"Alright then…" I laugh. "I'll see you guys then." I slide my board down into the pipe for my last ride of the day.

* * *

I walk to the door when I hear the bell ring. My hair is wet in a towel and I'm wearing a t-shirt and track shorts from after my shower. "Hey guys!" I grin widely at the three boys on my doorstep.

"This is where you live?" Sam asks me flabbergasted.

I nod. "Yeah for about seventeen years now…"

"You're seventeen too?" Will asks curiously.

"Well no…" I admit. "I turn seventeen in a few weeks. I'm super excited to not be a loner anymore. I'm like one of the youngest people in our class. You are a junior correct?"

I step to the side to let the guys in while I wait for Will's answer. "Yeah. I am. Ms. Wines' class is killer.

I nod, but add, "I'm actually pretty good in that class. If you need any help feel free to ask."

"Really? That would like save me and my grade point average!" Will explains with a hint of excitement.

"Yeah. Of course!" I smile at him and lead the boys to the pool area. "So I figured even if we don't swim it's a pretty nice place to just hang out."

Dink rolls his eyes and comments sarcastically, "Yeah it's 'pretty nice'."

"You know what Dink? I don't appreciate your sass!" I tease.

"Ladies calm down," Sam jokes putting a hand out to each as though he was holding them back. "Put the claws away."

Will's face is one of extreme amusement at Dink and I's playful demeanor. "Are they always like this?" He asks.

I nod and Dink shakes his head. "He always starts it too," I tell him.

"I do not!" Dink replies indignantly.

Sam laughs and takes my side. "He really does."

"Dude!" Dink exclaims. His face portrays feelings of betrayal and I laugh.

I'm practically doubled over as Dink begins ranting about the rules of friendship and the 'bro code' to Sam.

"Is this normal?" I ask Will through my laughter this time.

He nods, "It's pretty normal."

I pull a face. "I'm sorry."

He raises an eyebrow. "It's not your fault."

"No, but this is getting boring," I explain. He nods and I contemplate something for a moment. Both boys are standing quite close to the water and I give Will a slight smirk as Dink and Sam are still yelling at each other. I raise myself to my tiptoes and whisper in Will's ear. "Wanna push them in?"

He lets out a small chuckle, we both take a small step towards the boys, and in perfect synchronization we reach out and shove them each into the pool.

We're both laughing so hard it's hard to hear the shocked gasps and angry shouts of the now soaked snowboarders.

* * *

"I hate you two," I state plainly as I watch Kayla walk past in the hall. I can tell that she isn't truly happy by the look in her eyes as she's with Pia and Lindsey. It's probably some sort of soulmate talk. It really seems to get to her.

"Um, why?" Sam asks genuinely confused

I sigh still irritated. "Because the longer I spend time with her the more I want to. I want it to be her and it's not fair. This is torture."

Twin expressions of disbelief grace their faces. "You're admitting to it?" Dink asks. "It's only been a week. We were for sure that you wouldn't admit to it until after her birthday at least. You do know that it's only like two weeks from now right? You'll know soon."

I grimace. "I'm almost scared to know…" I admit. "What if it isn't? That's going to be frustrating. Or what if she's mine, but I'm not hers?"

Their disbelief soon turns to absolute elation. "You have no idea how excited we are about this!" Sam tells me. "This is a good sign…"

"If you feel like this she could very well be the one. I'm so happy for you bro," Dink grins.

"I can only hope," I look wistfully in the direction I last saw her. It's been a long time waiting for her and I can only dream that she's right here.

* * *

I'm so excited to be alive and awake. It's finally the day and I'll learn the name of my soulmate. I'm awake an hour earlier than normal because I'm so anxious. As soon as my eyes are open I look to my hands. They're the most common for you to find your mark located. When I see that it isn't there I scan up my arms and find nothing there either. I flip the blankets off my legs and scan them as well.

When I don't find it there I hop out of bed and into the bathroom where I can see the dark mark across my left collarbone in the mirror. I approach the mirror to get a closer look and begin trying to decipher it in the reflection. I can make out the first letter as a W and when I see that the first name is simply Will I gasp aloud.

I look away from the mark and compose myself. I shouldn't get any ideas before I finish reading it. When I look down again and see that the last name begins with C I feel a spark of hope before quashing it down to focus.

I sit there dumbfounded once I discover my hopes were true. Will is my soulmate. Now I just have to tell him.

* * *

I don't have the courage to check my back today. I'm too scared to even consider the possibility of Kayla really being my soulmate. I suppose I'll be happy for her no matter who it is. I just hope she's happy in the end.

* * *

I haven't seen Will all day and I'm worried. I normally at least pass him in the hallway, but it seems as though he's been avoiding me.

It makes sense though because I am a little irritated that he knew that I could've been his soulmate and he didn't even tell me. I'm mostly excited though. I wore a pull over hoodie today and no one suspected a thing as it was getting chillier out this Fall. It was incredibly casual for me, but no one gave me a second glance.

When I finally catch a glimpse of Will across the hall I practically storm over to him. I yank him by his collar and kiss him right in the hallway. It's intense and I can't imagine feeling this way with anyone else. There are sparks and I can't quite get enough, but I pull away before stating seriously. "I am so mad at you." I walk away leaving him bewildered and I hear a few whistles at the display.

* * *

It's time for practice and I almost am too afraid to go. I'm pretty sure Kayla's my soulmate and she's mine, but I've still never really checked.

I don't think kissing anyone else could feel the way it did with Kayla. Today in the hallway felt like magic and I can't even believe it could get better than that.

When I see Kayla walking up to me I take a deep breath. "How long have you known?" She asks her voice laced with irritation.

"Well I wasn't completely sure, but it didn't help that Sam and Dink introduced me to every Kayla they ever met." She gives me an irritated look and I wince a bit and give her a fuller explanation. "I've suspected for a couple weeks, but I didn't want to be wrong." I shrug at the end and she glares.

"That's stupid," She states plainly.

I correct her, "It's stupid now, but what if you woke up this morning with a different name? Then it wouldn't have been."

She rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't have though."

"You don't know that," I tell her.

"Well that's not really something I'm worried about right now," she allows.

I ask her curiously. "So where is it?" I peer down to her gloved hands because that's where it's most typical to have your mark.

She begins to unzip the top of her jacket and pulls it to the side to show me the inky, black looking mark across her collarbone. I can read my own sloppy signature there and I feel my face flush slightly. She pulls it back over and I can see she's blushing as well. Once her jacket is zipped back up she asks me, "Where's yours?"

"Umm. Mine is actually on the back of my shoulder so it's a little difficult to show you," I shrug. "I could I'd just have to take my jacket off and pull the whole back of my shirt up."

She shakes her head. "No. It's a little cold for that."

I agree with her. "Yeah. It is."

We both give each other easy smiles and have one of the best days for boarding since I've met Sam and Dink.

* * *

The next day we walk in to school together and everyone can see the mark across the front of my shoulder.

**AN- Lame ending is lame.**

**So essentially when you turn seventeen you get the name of your soulmate written in their handwriting somewhere on your body. If your soulmate is younger than you then you only get their first name until they turn seventeen and then you would both have the complete name to search for each other.**

**So that's the concept.**


	17. Chapter 17 Walk

**AN- I'm getting a little paranoid about running out of ideas…**

**SO PLEASE SEND IN REQUESTS!**

**I love prompts guys! Really!**

**In this 'verse Sebastian offered her a spot back on Team Swift the night before he originally did, but the story takes place the next day and the competition is the next day after that. If that makes sense…**

**Walk**

I crash again and it has to have been at least the hundredth time. "Ugh," I growl out in frustration. I merely flop down on the cold ground and cover my face with my gloved hands after removing my goggles.

"You're not tucking in enough," Will shouts at me as he approaches where I lie on my back in the snow.

I pull my hands from my eyes and send Will a harsh glare. "You know what? I'm trying alright. You don't have to be such a jerk about it."

Will's face transform from one of mild disappointment and strong intensity to one of absolute shock.

"I'm a person with feelings and I shouldn't have to be yelled at every time I fall down out here. It's not like I haven't shown you that I'm trying and that I want this," I shout back at him as I rise to my feet. "If I didn't want to be here I would leave and guess what? That time has come." I reach down and angrily rip the straps on my board to free myself. I step out and around Will leaving my board behind as I stomp away from the still shocked boy.

"Are you being serious right now?" I hear him shout from behind me.

I pivot on my heel and in an instant have replied. "Will, do I look like I'm kidding? I'm a person, but you know what else I am? I'm a girl. Just to let you know most girls don't like to be yelled at aggressively. If I wanted to be treated like dirt I would've just taken Sebastian's offer!"

He stands there for a moment as though he's processing what I've said. "What?" He asks with a tone of disbelief.

"You heard me," I tell him straight. "Sebastian offered me my spot back and I said no because I thought that I would be treated better here…" We stand together in silence before I turn around once more and am on my way home.

It takes me almost half an hour to reach my house and I'm still feeling mad at Will. I get that he means well, but it's not always about what you say, it's about how you say it and Will was saying it very loud and aggressively.

I strip off my boots and jacket at the door before heading directly to my room and removing my other snow gear. Once I'm free of it's confines I change into some comfortable pajamas and fall back onto my bed.

The further from the conversation I get the worse I feel. Was I really right to react so angrily or was my stress just getting to me? Sebastian's attempt at getting me to return to Team Swift yesterday had been weighing heavily on me and the competition tomorrow was stressing me out. I sure picked a great time to have a meltdown.

My door swings open and a panicked voice asks, "You quit?"

A disheveled Sam and Dink come into view and I stare at them before commenting, "Come on in," with a roll of my eyes.

"Seriously? This is like panic level seven!" Sam adds.

I grimace. "I didn't quit." When the boys give me a shared look of confusion I merely continue with, "I took a walk and it happened to end here in my pajamas. I'll probably go out later. I just need to be not around Will right now."

They both let out loud sighs and I can't help the urge to roll my eyes again.

"Well there you go. Crisis over," I dismiss them with a wave of my hand.

"Are you mad at Will?" Dink asks.

I give him a blank stare. "I'm not going to dignify that question with a response. Go home guys."

Sam shakes his head. "No way. We need both of you to be back to normal by tomorrow so we're gonna solve this."

I finally sit up to address them. "What I need from you two is to trust me. Everything will be fine tomorrow. I just need some time to cool off. Then later I'll head out and get some practice in before the competition tomorrow. I promise," I give them an honest stare and they finally give in and consent with a nod.

I give them another wave and they leave quietly. I lay back on my bed and turn to check the time. It's already seven o'clock so I'll probably get something to eat really quick before I head back to do some more boarding.

Right now I just want to sit for a moment and detox from this afternoon and all it's stresses.

After roughly five minutes of staring at the ceiling I stand back up and head down to my kitchen to make something really quick to eat. My parents had a business dinner tonight and I make myself some pasta to eat.

Once I've done that I eat it quickly over the sink and run back to my room. It's already been almost half an hour and I grab my snow gear to put it back on. Once I'm prepared for the elements I head to the door where I let my boots and jacket. When I see my board leaning against the wall I realize that Sam and Dink must've dropped it off and I'm glad that they did.

When I arrive at the pipe it's deserted and that makes sense. It's past eight o'clock and mostly dark except for the few overhead lamps that are still operating.

I start up to the top of the pipe and begin making runs. I crash every time just as before, but with a determined huff I stand once again. Then I hear a voice comment softly through the peacefulness. "If you grab your board a little further from yourself you should be able to get enough tuck to finish."

I turn to see Will standing with an apologetic look on his face.

In perfect tandem we both speak, "I'm sorry!" Then look confused, "Wait, what?"

I speak first with, "You shouldn't be sorry. I really shouldn't have snapped at you. I was just frustrated with myself mostly."

Will shakes his head. "What you said was true though. I was speaking harshly and I was being no better of a coach than Sebastian." He shivers at the statement and I laugh at the dramatic reaction.

"You were just trying to help," I tell him.

"I was still being a bit of a jerk to you. I promise not to though anymore. You are practicing for our team though right?" He asks jokingly, but I have a feeling that there's a little doubt in his mind.

I nod. "There's no way I'd ever go back to Team Swift Will. It's not where I belong."

He raises an eyebrow. "And where do you belong?"

I smirk. "It's not obvious?" I hold my arms out and gesture to the surroundings. "Here!"

"In an empty pipe?" He asks skeptical.

I laugh. "It's not empty now is it?"

He agrees. "That is true…" He takes a few tentative steps towards me and I stand my ground on my board. He takes more and then we're standing face to face. "We're good now right?"

"Definitely. We both had our problems and now it's all good right?" I ask to confirm.

He laughs. "Definitely." Then he looks down at his watch. "You do know it's almost midnight right?"

"I didn't, but that's good because midnight is a new beginning. Are you ready for a new beginning?" I ask seriously.

He looks me in the eyes and answers with a smirk. "Definitely."

"You know I believe in you right?" He asks after a moment.

"Definitely."

The word has barely left my mouth before his is pressed firmly to mine. It's hard to believe the circumstances, but I'm pretty glad that so far we've beaten the odds.

**AN- Not wowed by this…**


	18. Chapter 18 Feeling

**AN- If you haven't caught on by now I like to use titles that are relevant, but not completely obvious to the nature of the story.**

**Thanks for the reviews from LoveShipper and ellie111lee!**

**Thanks for the requests also LoveShipper! They're much appreciated!**

**I'm pretty sure I'll do one of those next chapter I just need to get my head together on one of them because I don't want to do the first one so close to chapter 14.**

**I started this one with a completely different idea in mind.**

**Feeling**

The day I became friends with Kayla was so long ago and even though we've grown closer there's always been something that's stopped me from making the move I'd like to. I have a sour feeling in my stomach and I'm sure today won't be the day either.

I'm incredibly proud of the progress that she's made as a boarder and I'm glad we've bonded the way we have, but if only we could have a moment alone to talk. I'm pretty sure that she likes me too. I just have to talk to her.

I can see her complete another perfect jump and give her a thumbs up. She rides the short distance to me and speaks, "Pretty good day out here. I don't see why you're taking the day off."

"I don't know. I'm just not feeling good about today. It clearly doesn't apply to you though!" I explain. She really has been on fire all afternoon. My stomach turns and it worries me. I've been feeling like something bad is gonna happen and I hope desperately that it's not about Kayla. I voice my concern by saying, "I feel like it's almost too good to be true. Maybe you should take the rest of the day off."

She grimaces. "I'm doing so well today though…"

I shrug. "It's up to you, but I just don't feel right about today and we could do something else."

"Like what?" She asks curiously.

"Um. I don't know… Anything I guess," I answer unprepared for her to agree with me. Is fate messing with my head?

She laughs. "I'm down for pretty much anything."

"Well I honestly wasn't expecting to get this far. I figured you would just disagree and keep boarding," I admit.

She pulls her helmet and goggles off and laughs once more. "I have no reason to not believe you or your instincts so I'll go along with it."

I'm honestly shocked that she's going along with this and I'm psyched that it was this easy although that is a little suspicious… "Well what sounds good to you?"

She has a thoughtful expression for a moment and answers. "A smoothie sounds pretty good right now."

"That sounds like a plan to me!" I agree with her. "Where do you normally go for one?"

"I usually go to this place by my house, but it's a bit of a walk from here," she elaborates.

"Let's go!" I encourage. "A walk sounds pretty nice." She begins to unstrap her board and I take it from her. "I'll take that."

She shakes her head at me amused. "I'm not gonna fight you on it. That thing is heavy and if you want to carry it then so be it!"

I nod. "Good choice." I tuck the board under my arm and ask, "Lead the way?"

"Well if you're feeling adventurous there's a slightly shorter path through the woods, but it's a little hilly and stuff," she suggests. "Otherwise we can just take the streets. It would cut about ten minutes off of our time."

If I take the path in the woods I'll have less time with her, but it will be actual alone time… "Let's go the quicker way. Then I don't have to carry this through all the people on the streets," I move the board to show that I was referring to it.

She nods. "That makes sense."

"Lead me to smoothies!" I say playfully.

"You got it! Follow me!" She laughs at the face I've made and I smile mostly to myself. I really do wish it was this easy all the time.

I take her right side so the board isn't in-between us and begin chatting casually with her as we walk. "So you and Pia actually pantsed all the mannequins in the mall in one day?" I gasp out through fits of laughter. "It sounds like something that Dink, Sam, and I would do. Not you two!"

"We seriously did! We were so bored and Lindsey was sick with the flu. It's one of my favorite memories!" She tells me.

We've approached an area in the woods where I feel as though we aren't anywhere near the town. "Um. Kayla where are we?"

"The woods," she answers plainly.

"We've been walking for almost twenty minutes. Are we close to getting out at all?" I ask her.

She shrugs. "I don't know. I was just wondering how long it would take you to realize we were walking away from the city before you said anything. Apparently my answer is twenty minutes."

I look at her bewildered. "Are you serious? Kayla that's insane."

"No it's not. We took an almost straight path to get here and there were no obstacles. If there had been any I would've told you what I was actually doing. Anyways this isn't so bad," She sits down in the thinner snow. It's only a couple of inches here which is quite thin for the mountain.

"You are crazy…" I shake my head and sit across from her, laying her board down next to me. "Why on Earth do I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?"

She fakes a posh voice and replies, "Because I'm amazing."

I roll my eyes. "So not it."

She smirks. "Then give me the reason."

"I don't have one. I honestly shouldn't," my voice shakes a little during the lie. Now that I'm here alone with her I'm too nervous to think about telling her.

Her eyebrows shoot up on her forehead, "Liar."

"So?" I respond.

She sighs. "Look so we're finally alone for once and if you aren't going to say it then I will," she takes a deep breath. "I like you. A lot. I never get the chance to talk to you about it because we're never alone so there it is."

I don't know why I considered the thought that Kayla would just let it go. I've known her for almost a year and I should've realized that she goes for whatever she wants. At least this time what she wants is me. "Um. Okay," I mumble some before raising my voice, "I like you a lot as well and I've actually tried to tell you a few times, but things never work out. Usually it's somehow related to Dink or Sam and then I feel really discouraged and give up for a while. So here it is," I lay everything out for her and then awkwardly state "I want us to be together…"

She has a small smile on her face and answers with, "That sounds great."

I take whatever little piece of courage I have to lean forward and bring our faces together for a short kiss. "So will you, Kayla Morgan, be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," she answers quietly before leaning back in for another kiss. The nervous feeling in my stomach is gone and I don't think anything could cause this to be ruined.

**AN- Seriously not what was gonna happen in the beginning at all. I'll save that plot for another time then.**


	19. Chapter 19 Taken

**AN- 19 chapters… Whoa. That just seems so crazy to me!**

**Remember to make requests and I will do them. It might not be immediate, but it will be as soon as I get ideas and inspiration.**

**Next chapter will feature one of LoveShipper's requests. I wanted to provide a slight gap and then it will be my twentieth chapter!**

**Some of my personal opinions are expressed in this for certain terminology. You'll understand when you read it.**

**It's not Nick by the way. You'll get it.**

**Taken**

"Dude, you know all of this pining after her is doing you no good right?" Dink asks his lovestruck friend concerned. "She's taken."

Will lets out a frustrated sigh. "I know. It's killing me bro," he turns to face his friends. "She hasn't even met this guy before. He's from Georgia or something."

"That's rough. The fact that the guy she's with doesn't even really know her is just dumb," Sam pitches in.

Will nods. "I might as well let it go. It's not like they're not serious about it. This has been planned since she was a baby!" He leans into the wall out of irritation before ranting. "I just don't know how you can promise your daughter off to marry some boy before either of them have even developed a personality!"

Dink grimaces. "It's technically traditional and you're only really frustrated because you don't have a chance with her."

"I would if she wasn't engaged to that guy…" Will mutters angrily.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Dink disagrees.

Sam nods to back Dink up. "You totally would if it weren't for the whole betrothed thing."

"I should just move on I guess. After all she is spoken for," Will releases a deep breath resigned to the fact that he would never get the girl he truly wanted.

* * *

"Dad?" Kayla asks tentatively. She pokes her head into her father's office hoping to find him in a break.

Her father looks up from the laptop he was most likely typing out emails on. "Yes sweetie?"

She speaks up a bit and steps into the room. "I was wanting to talk to you about my engagement."

Her father's eyebrows raise at the statement. Kayla had never shown much interest in discussing the boy she was promised to. "What about it?"

"Well…" She starts off unsure before clearing her throat. "I don't feel very confident in it. I don't love him at all. We don't have anything in common and we lead two very different lives. I don't feel a connection with this boy and I don't think I'll be happy marrying him."

"Wow. You've put thought into this," he gives her a knowing look. "Any other factors? I really do think that you two would be better together than you think. He's very nice and charming from all his father's told me. As well as hardworking, intelligent, and from what I've seen he is quite handsome."

She sighs. "I don't like the idea of leaving the mountains at all. I love snowboarding so much as well as all my friends and family."

"Mm hmm…" he hums. Then proceeds to fish for the answer he's sure is there. "Anything else?"

"Honestly, there may be another boy that I feel a strong connection with and I'd really like to get to explore that. I want to be happy here with him," she admits.

Mr. Morgan looks her dead in the eyes. "Kayla I will never force you to marry anyone you don't want to. You are my only daughter and I want you to be happy more than anything. Your mother and I picked out a boy for you to marry because we thought that you could be happy together. It would be foolish of me to force you into it when you believe you've found someone to be happy with. You're free to do whatever you'd please regarding the matter as long as it is handled with grace and respect."

Kayla's eyes are slightly glassy from the tears she's holding back and her voice expresses every ounce of gratitude she has. "Thank you so much dad. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he smiles as his daughter excitedly exits his office.

* * *

_"__I should just move on I guess. After all she is spoken for," Will releases a deep breath resigned to the fact that he would never get the girl he truly wanted._

"I never really liked that term," they hear a feminine voice from their side say. "Spoken for, taken, off the market," she lists, "They all sound so possessive. Like I'm an object as opposed to a person. No one has taken me, there is no 'market', and I can most definitely speak for myself."

The boys look at Kayla with shocked faces at her sudden appearance. "Are you guys really that oblivious? I've been standing over there for like five minutes." She gestures to a spot several feet away.

"Hi," Will manages to stutter out.

She smiles amused at his reaction. "Hi," She waves at him and her bare ring finger doesn't go unnoticed by two of her best friends. They're eyes are locked on it the whole time as it returns to holding her binder.

"Wait you aren't?" Sam doesn't dare finish his question.

She shakes her head and shrugs. "There were some complications. It was pretty though," she muses.

"It really was," Dink agrees. When Sam gives him a weird look he replies defensive, "A man can respect that kind of craftsmanship and effort!"

"What?" Will asks flummoxed by the whole exchange.

Kayla laughs at his bewildered expression and can't bring herself to answer his question.

Dink took the duty upon himself to clarify things for Will, "Basically our whole conversation a bit ago was inaccurate. You'll see." He taps Sam on the arm and the two vacated the area.

Will's eyes are still extremely wide and lost at the thought that Dink has put in his head. In a moment of clarity his eyes dart down to Kayla's hands and he realizes that they're bare of any jewelry, including the engagement ring that she'd been sporting for almost five months now. "You're not engaged?" He finally manages to utter.

She shakes her head with a smile on her face.

"Why not?" Will is completely befuddled by this change.

She shrugs at him. "There were several reasons. I couldn't picture ever leaving here, I'd miss my family, and of course there's the fact that I don't love him. It just wasn't fair for either of us."

"So you just called everything off even though you have been betrothed since practically birth?" Will asks her to confirm.

"Absolutely. There are certain things that aren't worth doing and sacrificing love is not one of those things. I love my family, I love snowboarding, I love my friends, and I'm pretty sure I might love you," her response is blunt and if Will thought that math was the most confused he'd ever be, he was wrong because he'd never foreseen this.

He points to himself. "Me?"

She laughs at the question and when his face turns anxious at the lack of an answer she laughs harder. She rolls her eyes and pulls him close. "Don't be daft," she mumbles into his ear. She leans up and kisses him hard.

Things appear to have finally kicked in for Will and he's responding almost immediately. His arms wrap around her waist and hers travel to his shoulders.

The hallway has fallen into a hush at their display. It's well known that Kayla has been engaged to a boy from Georgia and this has shocked them into silence as they witness the couple's display of affection.

When the pair have pulled away the hallway seems to be in shock.

"Well that solves that problem…" Kayla jokes. She raises her left hand and wiggles her fingers at the audience they've gained before taking Will by the hand to take him somewhere more private.

They had things to discuss and… Other things to do…

**AN- I only really have experience kissing my boyfriend and we have a very different height difference than Will and Kayla.**

**I'm 5'2 and my boyfriend is 6'4 so he usually picks me up. Not a problem for this pair, but not something I'm familiar with.**

**I was too lazy to give Georgia guy a name. Can you tell?**

**Though in my head his name was Jared…**


	20. Chapter 20 Ask

**AN- We're at twenty chapters! I honestly never expected this… I was pretty sure I would get one or two in and then quit, but here we are…**

**I've reached, as of the beginning this chapter, 33,727 words, 988 views, 23 reviews (19 from the ever so lovely LoveShipper and then two each from the equally fabulous Clato27 and ellie111lee!), 2 faves, and 3 alerts! That's amazing and I'd like to thank everyone for their contribution!**

**Remember to submit ideas! Believe it or not I will run out eventually!**

**This chapter was suggested by LoveShipper!**

**Ask**

"I'm so excited Kayla! Jenna actually said yes! I've got a date to prom!" Dink practically bounces towards me while I exchange books at my locker. He babbles excitedly about the girl for a moment.

All of a sudden the signs were everywhere. Prom was quite literally around the corner. It hadn't hit most of the boys to even be concerned until now, just two weeks before the event, but girls all across the school had been searching for their dresses since Christmastime. I wasn't one of those girls at all. I hadn't even really thought about the dance and didn't feel the desire to go by myself anyways.

The only reason prom had crossed my mind was because Dink had actually managed to get himself a date. I know it sounds bad, but he wasn't as smooth as he wanted to be and it had turned into a bit of a joke on the team. One that he even played along with from time to time.

I look at him amused for a moment. "Is she the one that we dared you to propose to at the mall?" I ask honestly curious.

He gives me a sheepish look. "Yeah… But she's really cool actually. We have third period together and we've been talking some."

"That's excellent! I'm happy for you! Now go tell Sam," I order him off so I can get along to my class.

"Well I just have to ask you something first," He explains. "Have you got your dress yet? I was hoping that you'd be there to help buffer with Jenna in case it gets awkward."

I shut my locker and give him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Dink. I'm not going to prom. I don't feel like going without a date. Maybe you could use Sam to help out?"

He looks down. "It's not the same… But alright. You really should come though. It's going to be amazing."

"I'm sure it will be for everyone with dates, but I'm perfectly content to save the money and stay home," I explain.

Dink looks at me unamused. "Your father owns the resort Kayla. It's not like you couldn't get a dress from around here for a discount."

"Go find Sam, Dink," I dismiss him.

He looks at me sternly. "You better go buy a dress Kayla!"

I roll my eyes and turn to walk away. "Whatever Dink," I turn my head as I walk to stick my tongue out at him and he makes a ridiculous face back at me. I walk into something solid before turning back around with a quick "Sorry!" I can hear Dink's laughter from down the hallway.

I peer up to see Will. "Hi," he responds clearly amused by the interaction.

"Hi," I laugh. "What's up?"

"I've got geography," Will grimaces. "We're covering Europe right now and all the countries are so little and squished together!"

I nod. "That's true, but it's so pretty over there."

He shrugs. "I guess. I better get moving though. I can't afford to be late."

"Me neither," I agree. "Bye Will!" I sidestep him and head on down to my class. I can hear his goodbye called down after me. I raise a hand in a little wave to indicate that I heard him.

* * *

The next day I walk to Dink with purpose. "You called my mother and told her that I wasn't going to prom because of money," I practically shout.

"Well you should go!" He defends.

I glare at him. "I should go because I want to go, but now I have to. It's like a punishment and I don't think you understood me yesterday. I don't want to go alone, saving money was simply a benefit of that."

He shrugs. "Now you have to go and you'll have a great time. I doubt that you'll go alone anyway. I bet someone asks you by the end of the week."

"I hate you," I deadpan.

He shakes his head nonchalant. "No, you don't."

* * *

I give Dink a knowing look. "So it's fifteen minutes until school gets out on Friday. Your week is up and I am still dateless."

He glares over to the left side of the classroom where the door is. "I've got the rest of the night Missy."

"Sure," I reply skeptical.

Soon enough the bell rings and I'm heading home from school as quick as possible. I just feel like laying down and relaxing for the night.

I reach the top of my porch and in front of the door is a little pile of what appear to be rose petals with a small card folded next to them. The card has my name in slightly sloppy writing on the outer cover.

I bend down to pick the card up and examine it some. I flip it open and it reads:

_Kayla,_

_I'm sorry that I haven't done this sooner, but I have a question for you._

_Would you go to prom with me?_

I glance around and hope that the boy that came up with such a cute note is around. He didn't sign it so I have no way of answering him.

"Um yes?" I say aloud to the area incase he's hiding from me.

"You don't sound very sure," I hear Will's voice from behind me.

I jump startled at his sudden appearance. "Goodness gracious Will you nearly gave me a heart attack. Why do you sneak up on people?"

"I don't. You're just really oblivious," he retorts.

I frown. "No, I'm not."

"No, but seriously are you sure?" Will changes the subject.

"About prom?" I ask, when he nods I continue, "Well yeah. Why not?"

He puts his hands up in mock surrender. "Just making sure."

I give him a suspicious look. "This is from you, correct?"

He nods once more. "Yeah."

"Then yeah. Absolutely," I confirm. I reach out and pull him into a hug. "I guess I better actually go buy a dress. I talked my mom out of making me on Wednesday."

"That's a good idea," he concurs.

* * *

"Well I think I'm all ready," I tell my mom. The dress we had bought last weekend was truly beautiful. It was emerald green and very slimming. It was strapless and the top featured some sparkly pattern detailing. I had fallen in love with it quickly.

My mom gives me a teary eyed smile and holds out her arms for a hug. "You look perfect, sweetie."

We hold each other tight for a moment before I thank her and head out the door. Will is waiting for me and he escorts me to his car where we take off to prom. He reaches out for one of my hands while he drives and remarks, "You look stunning by the way. I didn't want to make you late by hanging around at your house, but you really look amazing."

I feel the heat rush to my face. "Thanks," I mumble out.

He squeezes my hand once and we carry on to prom, my face burning the whole ride.

"Kayla!" I hear a few exclamations.

Within moments of arriving at the dance all of my best friends and their dates are surrounding me and showering me with compliments.

"Thanks guys, but can we just relax for a moment. You're all talking at the same time," I request politely.

The nod awkwardly at their overwhelming experience.

* * *

"So are you wanting to dance?" Will asks awkwardly.

Kayla giggles quietly. "I thought you'd never ask."

He offers her a hand out to me and we both rise while he replies back, "Oh haha! It's hard alright!"

"Mm hmm. Next time could you give a girl a warning that isn't in the form of Dink," I quip.

We're on the dance floor and the dancing is incredibly casual for a good twenty minutes. I'm having the best time and I'm so glad Will is with me. Then a slower song flips on and we both stand there awkwardly for a moment. We look at each other and burst into laughter before shaking off the weirdness and just dancing.

We've been spinning in circles for around a minute when I look up to see Will looking at me intently. "Can I try something?" he whispers.

I'm feeling brave at the moment and I answer. "Yes."

He leans in to me and kisses me gently for a moment.

I smile and jokingly comment. "Care to try again?"

**AN- I typed this with my glasses off so any errors were caused by the fact that I can't read my screen unless I'm less than a foot away from it.**

**Thank you all so much.**


	21. Chapter 21 Return

**AN- I had no idea that my page breaks weren't going through so I have reformatted chapters that I had written them in, but they didn't appear on fanfiction. This includes chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 19, and 20. It should make them easier to read and I'll try and be more vigilant checking that now…**

**Thanks to LoveShipper and ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted for their reviews and requests.:)**

**Return**

Practicing the night before Fire and Ice couldn't have gone any worse. I lashed out at Kayla even though it wasn't about her. We awkwardly walk towards her home for the night and I feel horrible for being the cause of this. I pat my pockets to check for my phone so I can tell my mom I'm on the way home. When I come up empty I sigh. "I forgot my phone at the pipe. I'll catch up with you in a minute," I break the awkward silence. She nods and I turn back the short distance to go grab my phone.

Once I've retrieved my phone from the table I'd sat it on I do a short jog back to where Kayla has made it and I overhear a conversation.

"C'mon Kayla, I saw what just happened out there and I know you aren't happy on that team. You should join us tomorrow. I'll have a uniform ready for you," Sebastian says.

Kayla gives him a hard glare and I slow to a stop so I can watch her reaction. "I don't think you heard me right. I will not _ever _be coming back to Team Swift. I may be irritated with Will right now, but he stopped me because he cares about me and doesn't want me hurt. You threw me off the team because you didn't want to put forth the effort to help me improve. So you know what you can do with the uniform you have for me?" She takes a step towards him and says venomously, "Burn it."

Sebastian's face is the dictionary definition of stunned. He stands there moving his lips, but unable to produce words and soon Kayla storms off in the direction of her home.

I return to my quickened pace and childishly stick my tongue out at the older man when I pass him. Within moments I'm back to Kayla's side and she glances at me before returning her eyes to the ground. Her eyes are hard and angry and I'm feeling incredibly guilty that I'm part of the cause.

I speak quietly. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm just really worried that you're going to get hurt like me somehow."

"I won't," she says with determination in her voice.

I give her a crooked smile. "I'm sure you won't. It doesn't keep me from being a big bundle of nerves about it," I admit.

She looks over and rolls her eyes. "Trust that I won't Will. I've got a great coach looking out for me." She nudges me with her shoulder and my face burns.

We fall into another lengthy silence before I offer. "Do you want to go back?"

"No way!" She protests.

I look at her confused. "You don't want to try again?"

She looks to me as though I'm crazy. "Not with him. He's insane and I never want to go back."

I burst into laughter. "I meant do you want to go back to the pipe? Not to Team Swift!" I clarify and once the distinction is made she joins me in giggles.

"Oh. Well that sounds fine," she remarks much calmer.

I chuckle. "Are you sure?" I ask in a teasing tone.

She makes a face at me before turning around and heading back the other way. I turn on my heel and follow her. "When am I ever gonna say no to that?"

"Well I didn't know if you were tired or something! It is getting pretty late," I tell her.

She shrugs. "It's the night before Fire and Ice and I need the practice. I want at least a few more runs whether or not I actually land it."

I nod. "Sounds like a plan. Besides, from the way Sebastian makes it sound you're already a real threat without the Cloud 9."

"I still really want to make it! It's a challenge now," she states.

I grin. "You will. You just haven't needed to yet."

"Thanks for coming back with me," Kayla says.

I shrug nonchalant about it all. "It's honestly not a big deal. I'm feeling antsy as well and this is just how you handle stress," I grab her by the shoulders since we've reached our destination. "You've got everything going for you and I'm on your side every step of the way."

"Thanks Will. It means a lot," she leans into me for a hug and I'm surprised at the affection, but wrap my arms around her regardless. When she loosens her grip I do as well, but she's looking into my eyes and I'm struck by how stunning she really looks right now.

I'm not an idiot and I've realized that Kayla is incredibly attractive, but this moment right now it all just falls into place for me. I swear I'm on auto pilot and when our lips meet I know that I'm lost to my instincts because everything is a blissful blur moments after.

Kayla doesn't get her run through, but we do sit under the lights for the next hour talking about nothing and everything. It's incredibly peaceful and it feels like one of the happiest moments of my life.

**AN- If you guys notice any mistakes feel free to tell me. I don't edit these because I pretty much always post in the wee hours of the morning my time.**

**I probably won't come back to change something unless the number of errors in the chapter is large or the error in particular makes it harder to read. That's why I went back and added line breaks to all the chapters in need. This one didn't have any so I don't have to worry this time.**

**Remember to review! I've had over a thousand views and only 25 reviews! I'm not greedy, but it just seems like I could have a few more!:)**


	22. Chapter 22 Scare

**AN- I am so sorry for punking out on you guys this weekend, but I didn't have anytime to myself that didn't involve sleep or homework so I apologize.**

**I didn't get to watch the movie and refresh my memory either so that sucks as well.**

**Thank you very much for the reviews last chapter LoveShipper, ellie111lee, and ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted!**

**This is a request from ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted.**

**I aspire to be a vet and therefore have to recognize the dangers. #vaguecommentmakessenselater**

**Scare**

I walk into work and am met with copious barks of enthusiasm from the kennel regulars. "Hi guys," I say in a higher pitch.

"Hi Kayla!" Sam answers from his spot in the corner.

"Hey Sam," I grin. "Your turn today?"

He explains quickly. "Just for a while. Will had to meet about something after school."

I nod. "Alright," I peer over to the cages. "Who's the new dog?" I ask curious about the fluffy Akita breed.

Sam grimaces. "That's Missy," He shoots the dog a dirty look. "I don't recommend any contact with her. She snapped at me when I tried to feed her."

"Well alright. I'll be avoiding her then," I reply. I glance back over to the beautiful tan dog and give a disappointed frown. "It's too bad. She's really pretty."

"She is, but she's meaner than any dog I've ever met!" Sam comments.

The door bell rings and we both turn to see Will walking inside and stopping his boots off on the rug. The dogs are stirred up into a flurry once more and I look back to watch Missy sit silent, but her eyes intent on Will.

"Hi," Will greets us and I turn back to him.

I smile brightly at him. "Hey!"

"Hi Will. I have to head out and meet Dink, but you two are gonna be done at like four right?" Sam asks.

I look to Will to confirm. He knows the schedule better than I do still. "Yeah. We get out then so provided there are no delays," he looks at me pointedly and I glance to the ceiling acting innocent, "We should be able to meet with you guys at like four thirty."

I may or may not take a little more time than Will thinks is necessary, but he doesn't have as much to do. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

"Sounds good, bro!" Sam nods and waves goodbye to us as he heads out the door.

The ringing of the doorbell causes a few residual barks, but the shop quiets quickly. If I'm here by myself I would sing and that causes all of the dogs to quiet except Donald. He howls and sings with me. It's a lot of fun.

"Alright. We don't have much to do today so we might even be able to get out even earlier then four today," Will informs me.

I reach over and knock on the countertop before responding. "Okay. What do we need to do then?" I inquire.

"Well we need to feed everyone and then I think Donald is the only one due for a bath. So that's all there is really besides regular store cleaning up and such," Will answers before asking, "Who's the new guy?"

I scowl. "That's Missy. Apparently she tried to bite Sam when he went to feed her."

Will raises his eyebrows. "Well then. That's no good. Stay away from her."

I nod. "I plan on it. You should as well."

He makes a noncommittal noise before remarking. "I washed Donald last time so guess what?"

I stick my tongue out at him and he tosses me a leash and I catch it. Donald is not allowed out of his kennel without it because he tried to run the last time he was without it.

I reach into Donald's kennel and snap the leash onto his collar before opening the gate and leading the dog to the bath tub. "Up we go Donald," I say aloud as I lift him into the tub.

"Enjoy that!" Will quips from across the shop.

"Maybe I will. Donald and I have bonded haven't we?" I ask the dog in a silly voice.

The dog barks twice and I laugh at Will's surprised "What? Did he just answer you?" from across the shop.

As I fill the tub with a small amount of warm water I speak quietly to Donald and he occasionally yaps back at me. My amusement only grows as Will grows more confused by the apparent bond that Donald and I formed on the few shifts I didn't share with Will.

"What did you do to him?" Will asks from over by the dogs once again.

I giggle. "I didn't do anything!" I begin rinsing the soap off of Donald.

I hear Will pouring food into bowls and he argues. "Donald is never that good for me in the bath! Did you brainwash him?"

I shake my head at Will's ridiculous accusation. "No Will."

Donald shakes and I hear a few happy barks from other dogs that have received their bowls. I pick Donald back up and grab a towel. I sit down in the floor with Donald and begin drying him off with the towel.

I hear an aggressive sounding growl and my head spins over to where Will is standing over by Missy. It feels like I see it in slow motion. Before I can even try to say the words the dog has pounced towards Will's outstretched arm containing the food bowl. I see the dog bite down on his arm and he lets out a shocked noise.

"Will!" I finally exclaim jumping to my feet when he's pulled his arm from the dog's mouth. There is dog food scattered across the floor and he's holding his arm tightly. He walks tensely over to sit down and I rush to his side. "What do you need?" I ask panicked. "That was so stupid."

He nods. "I think I need my mom." His eyes are shut tight and his face shows that he's in pain. I look down at his arm and can see a trickle of blood not covered by his hand. I grab my cell phone and start dialing the number before I quickly jog over to get a fresh towel for Will's arm. The phone is still ringing when I return to him and in the end it sends me to her voicemail. I leave a message before asking what Will would like me to do next.

He breathes deeply. "Maybe some ice for now…"

I'm shaking out of nervousness. I grab the ice and with a shaky voice ask, "Stupid question time, but are you okay?"

"I'm sure I'm going to survive," He replies as he places the ice over the towel.

I sit down next to him and grab onto the towel and apply pressure. He makes a hissing noise with the intake of breath. "You have to keep pressure on it to stop the bleeding. You might need stitches. Where is your mom at?"

"She has a meeting thing until like three thirty," His eyes are squeezed tightly shut once more and I look up to the clock.

"It's five minutes until the end of her meeting. She'll get the message I left then. Anything else I can do for you?" I ask once again.

He takes another deep breath. "Distract me."

Without even thinking I lean over and kiss him. Surprisingly to me he kisses back and we fall in sync without ever releasing pressure on Will's arm. I pull away and look to the towel to see it he's bled through it. When I see it's not true I take a deep breath myself. "Don't ever scare me like this again," I state seriously.

**AN- Hopefully this is satisfactory.**

**Sorry for going missing for two days… **


	23. Chapter 23 Noble

**AN- Sorry for going AWOL with no earlier explanation. I would've posted a note, but I figured you'd rather I spent my spare time on this and not comprising a list of my excuses.**

**College is definitely a busy time. I go on break in a few weeks though.**

**Thank you for reviews from LoveShipper and ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted.**

**Now for your reading enjoyment (finally)… Chapter 23 Noble.**

**Noble**

It was weird seeing Nick the next day at the pipe. I was meeting Will there to hang out for a bit and board. Sam and Dink were going to be a bit late, but that was okay.

When Nick gave a small wave and raced off in his generic snowsuit I knew something more was going on now that he'd confronted his father. I lift a hand a wave back in a show of peace before he's out of sight.

"I still can't really believe that you kept it a secret," Will admits arriving behind me.

I give him a confused look. "Why not? Do I strike you as the type to try and ruin someone's reputation?" I tease him.

He grimaces, "Well no. I just mean that it's awfully noble of you. You could've had the team disqualified if you just told them that Nick had been involved in the sign breaking as well."

I shrug. "I doubt disqualified, but in trouble a bit sure."

"So why didn't you?" Will asks curious.

I sit quietly and think for a moment before answering. "Well at first it was to protect him, but when I figured out he didn't really care about me anymore I wanted to prove myself instead of just showing them to be the cheaters they are."

"You really are the bigger person. I always admired that about you," Will admits. "The whole time. Even when I was busy trying to keep you away from me. I always thought that it was very strong of you to take the blame for your team and still not throw them under the bus when it would benefit you."

I shrug. "I knew that I could do better than him even if no one believed it. Then you, Dink, and Sam were thrown into my life and you believed in me. I could tell at the beginning it was tentative, but you have to admit that you did even just a little bit."

He nods. "I was assured of that by how stubborn you were. You were going to do it no matter what. I was shocked that you were as, please don't be offended, average as you were. You had the dedication any coach would dream of. You did as you were told and all it took was some mild attention to allow you to flourish," he explains. "I didn't have to do a whole lot, Kayla. I just had to guide you in the direction you wanted to go with some advice. You just needed a coach that would pay attention to you."

"And for that I am extremely grateful. You were absolutely right when you said I needed a coach that would pay attention to me more, but you have taught me tons. Trust me when I say that it wasn't just guidance. It was more than that," I smile at the boy that I've grown fond of quite recently. He has really changed me for the better.

Will's eye roll is unmistakable, but I let it slide as we sit there in a companionable silence. Will breaks our peace with a murmur. "Yesterday honestly terrified me."

I give him an incredulous look. "Why on Earth would it have terrified you? We all did amazing."

He turns to look me in the eye. "It wasn't about how well we were doing. It was about everyone's well being. Every jump performed I could see a crash. Small ones, big ones… deadly ones. It was unconscious and I couldn't get it to stop. My first run I was sure that I was going to go down and hurt myself again. When I didn't I almost hyperventilated for a moment before I was better. The worst ones were Dink, Sam, and your runs though. I was more afraid for the three of you then I have ever been in my entire life. I'm surprised I didn't give myself a heart attack."

I sigh. "Will… You shouldn't have worried about us. I know that Dink and Sam would say the same when I tell you that you just need to focus on the moment and not everyone else. It's dangerous for you to dwell on anything else. Certainly while you're in the middle of a run!" I scold him before adding softer, "I appreciate the concern, but if I was going to crash and hurt myself you would've seen it by now." My statement is followed by a small laugh from each of us. I had crashed too many times to count in front of him.

"I don't know. I think the whole event just gives me anxiety!" He shrugs at me. "I just couldn't help it. I don't know how I'll handle it next year."

I grin. "I'm sure you'll do fine. I'll make sure of it," I promise him.

He gives me a challenging look. "And how do you propose you'll do that?"

"Magic," I wink at him and he chuckles and shakes his head at me. "No really. I promise."

"Whatever you say."

"Of course," I grin at him.

He rolls his eyes at me once more and I can't help, but laugh. "C'mere," He mutters.

I give him a look, but scoot a little bit closer to him. "Okay." We're nearly touching now as we sit there and I turn my attention back to the boarders on the pipe.

"I just wanna say thanks… For everything," Will speaks quietly once more.

I sit silent for a few moments. "You don't need to thank me for anything."

"Oh shut up," He argues.

We're sat there for a few moments of peaceful silence until I feel Will's hand turning my face to him. "What?" I ask him curious.

"Sometimes you just shock me and I'm pretty sure I'd like you to keep it up forever," he admits.

I smirk and quip back with, "I think I can handle that."

He grins and responds quickly. "This time it's my turn though."

I raise an eyebrow and in moments my unasked question was answered. Will pressed his lips to mine and I pressed right back. I could definitely get used to this kind of surprise myself.

**AN- I really am sorry for the wait, but I've got this for you now. As normal it hasn't been edited. If there are any obnoxious issues leave me a review to let me know. I make no promises for a next update.**


End file.
